


Re:Zero Authority of Gacha- Guided by the Stars

by NotFlugel



Category: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 | Re:Zero Starting Life in Another World (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, New Authority, Subaru becoming stronger (just a tiny bit)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28859010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotFlugel/pseuds/NotFlugel
Summary: After Subaru almost dies for the fourth time, he finds himself in a mysterious white room.Will he be able to use his newfound Abilities for good or will his Pride dictate the Path?A Story about Subaru receiving small buffs gained through chance, that could derail his entire Story.
Comments: 33
Kudos: 98





	1. Prologue : Ability or Curse?

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Fanfiction, so any criticism is welcome.  
> Neither will Subaru be very powerful, instead getting small buffs that will help him along the way.  
> However, these buffs could lead him down a darker path.  
> I hope you enjoy.

Subaru found himself in a weird space. The Entirety of which covered in white tiles that seemed to stretch infinitely. Subaru pinched his eyes shut and forced them open again. He felt a lingering pain in his stomach. A small gasp escaped Subaru's lips. His brain began to work, despite his worn-out state. Subaru remembered what had happened the last time. **[The Bowl Hunter]** Elsa Granhiert had sliced his abdomen. He had his suspicions about **[Return by Death]** , but now he knew. His boundary was three. He was allowed to die three times and had exhausted his ability.

_'I hope Emilia and Reinhard are okay. Guess that doesn't matter now.'_

He felt saddened that he didn't get to spend more time with them, but at least he had saved her from certain death. The more burning question for Subaru was what he would do next. For the first time, since arriving in the white void, he looked around. There was merely one thing except for the endless white. 

Three anomalies were hovering slightly above the ground. They were pulsing, bending space, sucking in the white color, and spitting it out again. Distant vibrations were perceived and detected by Subarus ears. Seeing no other options, Subaru Natsuki started moving towards the first source. The young man began to recognize how weak he was. His feet felt akin to stones, too burdensome to use them ordinarily. He resorted to dragging them on the ground instead. Inching closer and closer to the pulse, he discerned how he became weaker and weaker. Using his last remaining strength, he embraced the first pulse with his hands. White light, not unlike the white of clouds, robbed his vision.

The boy found himself in an open field that was blooming with flowers. Colors clashed with each other, the purple of the bellflowers fighting with the white of the daisies. On the horizon, yellow sunflowers blossomed, observing the clash of the former two. Subaru was confused once more. The sudden change of location was too much for his brain to process. Laying himself on his back, he watched the sky. Devoid of clouds, he could recognize the sun. 

He lost his concept of time while starring at the sky. Three days should have passed, yet he had a feeling that it hardly had been five minutes. Despite the time loss, he felt peaceful and relaxed. However, an urge was manifesting itself. Subaru gave in to his desire and sat upright once more. Slowly he reached within himself and let mana flow throughout him. A part of himself still was very reluctant about his suddenly obtained Skill. Subaru didn't understand what mana was. Neither did he ever learn to channel it. Despite his cluelessness, he had manifested a small black orb, the size of an apple, in his right palm. It was increasingly difficult to maintain it, so by closing his Hand, Subaru let the black orb vanish from existence. Engaged in his exercise, he continued to train the same move for sixty more days. 

Instinctively he comprehended that his time in the flower field was over. For the last time, he created the black orb. If Subaru compared his efforts to his first tries, he would notice how it became way less taxing. He continued to observe the ball of mana for five more minutes before crushing it like he had done thousands of times before. Taking one last breath, he could feel the world around him collapse and fragment into a million pieces.

Subaru found himself once more in the white void. The only notable change was the absence of one of the anomalies. The other two impatiently floated around, just waiting for Subaru to touch them.

The boy inched closer to it, with fingers outstretched, he again began to move his body in the oppressive white. As he grabbed the pulse with his hand, he could sense the warmth flowing throughout him as the room lit in black light. 

Subaru found himself standing in a small room. Debris and dirt covered the floor. It reeked of rotten wood, and the stench of dead animals was overwhelming Subaru's noose. In the left corner was what resembled the remains of a bed. The door was missing, offering a clear view of the thick forest that surrounded the abandoned cabin. Subaru's hackles raised as the cold air hit his frame. Subaru did not like being here at all. The young man heard a faraway growling. He wasn't knowledgeable about animals, but it didn't sound like it was small or in a good mood. Frantically he began looking around, noticing a small table that stood out. On it, he spotted a bronze key. Subaru started moving towards it, a loud creak audibly with every step he took. He gulped loudly, praying that the noise didn't attract a wild beast. Hastily he picked up the key and examined it. The Sight of which robbed him of his breath, as the mysterious key bore his name. Several nearing footsteps ripped him out of his thoughts while sweat began trickling down his face. Before him stood a beast, which Subaru could best describe as a mix of werewolf and dog. It was fetching its teeth at the defenseless boy. Luckily for Subaru, the world began to scatter, rescuing him from the advancing beast.

For the third and final time, he arrived in the void. Subaru felt much better with two of the floating things gone. He could finally stand and walk, although still with great trouble. His abdomen stopped burning as he approached the last pulse. As his hand pierced into the anomaly, the world began to change once more.

Subaru stood before a small brownish-yellow mountain. The air was dry and tasted rocky and sandy. The area as a whole reminded him of the grand canyon. Not that he had ever been there but, from one of the few lessons in geography that he actually listened to, he knew how it looked.

Once more, an unnatural desire overcame him. He wanted, no, he needed to climb this mountain. Instead of the previous time, he strived to suppress his urges. But similar to a flower, the seed inside his brain began to blossom as it became increasingly challenging to fight against his lingering desires. 

Unable to restrain the overwhelming stream of thoughts, he caved in and started to scale the mountain. Subaru took small steps, fitting his hands and feet into small gaps or holes. His hand became irritated, damaged, and dry. A bit of blood was leaking from his palms, rushing down his arms and dirting his tracksuit. As a result of the sandy wind, his lips were dry. Nonetheless, he continued his advance up the mountain. 

After a long time, he finally reached the mountain's peak, which led to a small plateau. His tracksuit had changed colors, purely by the amount of sand and mountain rubble that stuck to it. He now was faced by an even taller mountain. While the first one was about five meters high, this one was at least seven meters tall and appeared steeper. Even when faced with this new challenge, Subaru was content. Maybe, just maybe, if he didn't waste his life in his old world, he would have discovered the joy in scaling mountains. A small serpent was resting some distance apart from him. It was purely yellow, almost indistinguishable from the ground. Subaru wondered what the snake was doing up here, but that was secondary, as he relaxed his tense muscles, preparing for the next part of climbing. 

Subaru was breathless, clutching his fists against the stone wall. It was more troublesome than excepted. His knuckles were turning white from the pure pressure he put on them. With his reaming bit of strength, he grasped the edge of the mountain and pulled himself up to the second plateau. The worn-out boy let himself fall onto the ground, nearly passing out from the exhausting act of scaling the mountain. His attempt to climb the second mountain was far more troublesome than the first. Perhaps climbing wasn't such a great hobby, after all. Once again, he spotted an animal. However, this time it was a mystic ox instead of a snake. His yellow fur and horns send all kinds of questions through Subaru's head. However, the young man pushed his roaming thoughts into the back of his head once more. He approached the third wall, which stretched up to twelve meters.

When Subaru reached the top, he just collapsed. His breath was burning his Lungs, his hands bloodied, and his clothes torn. That he came up this far was still a mystery on its own. However, he stopped worrying anymore as he just passed out. When he awoke, he noticed an intimidating bear just staring at him from a distance. Slowly but surely, he became irritated. He died, and now he had to go through so much hardship? First, the flower fields, then the scary decaying shack, and now this. Scaling mountain after mountain while being observed by animals that looked exactly like the mountain itself. He wasn't religious but having to do this much after dying was bullshit. However, all the complaining would get him nowhere, so lacking any other Option, he began climbing the walls once more. At the very least, after this, it would be finally over. The last floating pulse would fade, and he would have peace. All that was left to do was rising beyond this wall. Even though it was over thirty meters tall, Subaru had made his resolve. 

After scaling half the wall, he had virtually lost his energy completely. Using whatever tiny amount remained to clinch to the rock, he let out painted short breaths. His nails duck into the wall, drawing more blood that crimsoned his hands. At that very moment, he lost his footing. Immediately he tried to regain it, but his slowed reflexes weren't enough. He began to drop through the air. He didn't have enough energy left to cry or scream. His vocal cords didn't produce any sounds as he awaited certain death. Subaru closed his eyes, hoping that it would be painless. As his body made contact with the ground, a disturbing sound echoed throughout the mountains. Subaru felt an immense amount of pain as his blood began to spill from his body. He tried to scream or cry, but his body wouldn't let him. Slowly but surely, he sensed the pain disappearing as his consciousness faded from his body.

Subaru Natsuki died for the fourth time.

Subaru Natsuki found himself on a massive and soft bed. He forced his eyes open, a small scream escaping his lips. While trying to come himself down, he looked around the room. It was quite big and had lots of luxurious furniture. Trying to force the gears in his head to work, he looked down upon himself. His trademark tracksuit was gone, instead being replaced by a lush red robe. It was then when Subaru remembered. He was probably in the Mansion of Reinhard, the **[Sword Saint]**. Subaru had watched enough fantasy series to know that this could only be the Mansion of a Noble. He looked onto his stomach, searching his body for any injuries. To his surprise, neither the fall nor the belly cut from Elsa had left any permanent marks on himself. 

Sitting upright, the young man worked on finding solutions to what had happened. He certainly wasn't dead, so the limit for **[Return by Death]** was not three. However, this didn't explain why he had been in the white void. Or why he had to do the training in the flower fields. It didn't explain why he was in the abandoned shack or why he had to scale, and fail at it, the mountains. Perhaps it was just a dream, maybe something else? His eyes wandered to his hands. Subconcily he had clenched one of them shut the entire time. Shifting his focus to the clutched hand, he could feel the cold coming from it. Gradually he opened his hand to find inside it a key. Inspecting it closely, he noticed that it was the same key he was clutching to in the shack with the beast.


	2. Chapter 1: Spirits and Magic

Letting the Shock settle in, Subaru once again began to pick his brain for answers. 

_ 'So it wasn't just a dream? Did any of this really happen? Was his death at the mountain real or simply a method to deject him out of the weird world?'  _

Subaru shook his head, trying to ease his worries. What was important now was to find Reinhard and thank him for taking him in. With that thought in mind, Subaru left the room. 

The young man found himself standing in a long hallway. Vases and exotic plants filled the corridor. Subaru decided to turn right, marching down the hallway. After a few steps, he noticed a gorgeous painting. The artwork was that of a breath-taking forest at night. A small lake shimmered in the moonlight, a wooden cabin set on a distant hill. Subaru took a few more moments to let the beauty of the masterpiece set in. 

' _ Whoever commissioned this certainly has good taste. _ '

Moving once more, he continued his journey leaving the painting behind. After walking for few minutes, Subaru came across the same artwork once more. Examing it, he noticed the same features.

' _ Looks like Reinhards Father must have genuinely liked that painting.' _

However, when Subaru noticed the artwork for the third time, he began to connect the dots. 

' _ So this is one of these looping hallway puzzles.' _

He glanced around to see eight doors spread out evenly. Taking the first doorknob into his hand, he relied solely on his instincts. 

_ 'Too cold.'  _

Subaru moved to the door on his right, feeling the second doorknob. 

_ 'This is the one.' _

With a strong push, he opened the door. 

Inside was a library filled with an uncountable number of Books. Rows of shelves containing ancient knowledge stretched the room. In the middle of the room, on top of a step ladder, sat a petite girl. Her cream-colored hair had the shape of two twin-drills. A small crown complimented her appearance as she shot Subaru an annoyed look. She could be no older than twelve, so naturally, Subaru was curious. 

_ "What a profoundly aggravating man you are, I suppose."  _

_ "Are you annoyed that I managed to break through your little puzzle on the first try? Besides, you should smile more, or you are going to ruin your cute appearance with that cold face of yours."  _

The small girl gave him a " _ Hmmph. _ " 

_ "The only thing that you deserve is a derisive sneer, in fact." _

_ "What is this place anyway?"  _ The girl gripped her book angrily as he continued to talk.

_ "It's Betty's multi-purpose room, which serves as a library and a bedroom, in fact." _

_ "You know a small girl, like you should stay up so late. It's bad for you."  _ Subaru commented. 

_ "Betty had enough of you."  _ Closing her book shut, she began to close the distance between them. Automatically Subaru backed up to the door in a futile attempt to keep her away.

_ "Time to teach you a lesson."  _ The girl that referred to herself as Betty had cornered Subaru against the door.

_ "Hey, what are you going to do?" _ Subaru asked anxiously.

_ "I am going to make sure that you are not an enemy, so don't you dare try to move."  _ Betty glared up at the boy in question.

_ "Please don't hurt me." _

Betty looked up to him in an unimpressed manner. Slowly she placed her hand on his stomach. 

_ "Eh."  _ This startled noise left Subaru's lips as he looked at the small girl in Confusion. The next moment a scream emerged from his mouth as Betty began to drain him of his mana.

The young man dropped to the ground in pain. He looked over to the spirit that was towering above him, watching him with a dissatisfied look.  _ "Your Gate withstood this better than I had anticipated, I suppose. Perhaps I should suck out your mana completely to make it worth my time."  _

Subaru slowly lifted his head to look at the smug girl. 

_ "You are not human, are you?"  _

_ "Took you long enough to notice, I suppose."  _ Betty began to move back to her chair.  _ "With this, I have confirmed that you are not an enemy of Roswaal L Mathers." _

The young man looked at the spirit.  _ "I thought I was at Reinhards Place. Who is Roswaal?" _

Betty shot him the same annoyed glare she gave him the first time when he entered the library.  _ "Betty doesn't want you in her library anymore. Since you can walk, I don't have to call one of the Maids to get you out of here, I suppose."  _

With a sweeping gesture, she looked at him once more. 

_ "Shoosh, Shoosh."  _

Without awaiting his response, she turned back to her books. 

_ "See you around, I guess." _

With those parting words, Subaru turned to leave the library.

_ "Betty hopes she never sees you again, in fact." _

After her words, the library door closed, she once again found the calm and peace that she had enjoyed for the last 400 years. 

However, her mind raced with thoughts. How a mere human withstood her  ** [Drain Touch] ** was unbelievable. Her failure was out of the question. She was a Great Spirit, created by the  ** [Witch of Greed] ** , after all. However, the annoying boy had not only broken her  ** [Door Crossing]  ** on the first try but also made her miscalculated how much mana she could drain from him. His gate was lackluster at best, and by all means, he should have fallen unconscious. 

Through her dark thoughts, there was a shimmer of hope. Perhaps he is  ** [that Person] ** . How could she have been so blind? Only  ** [that Person] ** , someone her mother found worthy, could resist all of her best spells. Hastily she picked a black book from underneath her stepladder. She opened it once more, turning the Pages in hopes of an answer. 

But the Sites remained empty, just like they had been for the last 400 years. The hope of her ever leaving the library was extinguished. Beatrice was left abandoned once again.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, a young man was tumbling outside the library. To his surprise, he found himself in his guest room. Subaru slowly moved towards his bed, the stars illuminating his room. He let himself fall onto the guest bed and went back to sleep for the second time this day.

Subaru awoke yet again, the sun carefully caressing his eyelids. He estimated that it was still relatively early in the morning. 

_ "Oh, he has awakened Sister." _

_ "Indeed, he has awakened, Rem." _

Subaru sat upright, staring at the Owner of the Voices. What he saw filled him with delight. Two maids, twins apparently, were standing in front of his bed. Both of them looked identical, except for the color of their hair. One was blue, the other pink.

"Maids were always the personification of elegance in my mind, but this is even better." 

After hearing Subaru's lustful comment, the two Maids were holding each other tightly.

_ "How terrible. You are being violated in the mind of our guest, sister." _ The blue-haired one said. 

_ "It is terrible you are experiencing the ultimate shame in the mind of our guest, Rem."  _ The pink-haired one spoke while hugging her sister closely.

A gentle knock on the door interrupted them as the beautiful half-elf entered. 

_ "Can't you wake up more peaceful, Subaru?"  _ like a scolding mother, Emilia reprehended him. 

Subaru gave her a warm smile while looking her up and down. 

_ "Whoever made the outfit totally gets it." _ He commented once more, with dubious Intentions.

_ "I don't know what you are talking about, but I know that it's stupid so, I am disappointed."  _ Emilia replied innocently. 

_ "However, I am very grateful that you saved me, despite not knowing me."  _ She began to flail her arms around.  _ "Still, it was very stupid of you to risk your life like that, don't do that again, you dunderhead."  _

Subaru gave her a thumbs up.

_ "Anything for you, Emilia-tan. Besides, who says dunderhead anymore?" _

_ "What does that tan stand for?" _

_ "Look, sister, our guest-tan is insulting Miss Emilia." _ Rem, the blue maid, told her sister.

_ "Yes, Rem, our guest-tan truly has no shame."  _ The pink one replied.

_ "Way to go, you two. I hope you are happy that you turned my token of affection into a curse." _

_ 'Well, time to start a new day.' _

\---------------------------------------------------------

After finishing his radio calisthenics routine, he spoke to the maids. He discovered that he was staying at the Mansion of Emilia's Benefactor instead of Reinhard's. The name of whom was Roswaal L Mathers. The Maids, Ram, and Rem, told both of them that Roswaal was returning in the evening. Until then, he has been deemed a welcome guest of the margrave. 

Currently, he was sitting in the Garden, thinking about what to do next. He still didn't know what happened in the Void or what he would do now. Some distance away, he saw Emilia approaching him. A small cat was sitting atop her head.

_ "Hi Subaru, great morning, isn't it?"  _ The gray spirit, Puck, asked him.

_ "Well, for me, it was nothing but utter chaos. First a looping hallway, then a mean little girl on a rampage."  _ Subaru answered.

_ "Thank you for saving Lia. I wouldn't know what I would have done without you. So as a reward, I will fulfill a wish of yours."  _

If Subaru didn't experience what he had up until this point, then maybe he would have chosen something nonsensical with little reward. However, he needed help. This world was unforgiving. He had experienced it first hand. Subaru needed to defend himself instead of relying on the goodwill of those around him. 

_ "As a spirit, you surely can help me learn some magic, right?"  _

_ "Well, that depends on your magic attribute. You see, I am the great spirit of fire. So do you know your attribute?"  _

_ "No, I don't." _

_ "Do you want me to find out?" _

_ "Yes, please."  _

Subaru began slightly jumping up and down. Finally, he would become the hero of this world. He was sure that he would get some super rare element that would make him powerful. 

Puck floated before him and touched his forehead with his tail.

_ "There are four main attributes. Fire, Water, Earth and Air."  _ Puck explained while beginning the process.  _ "Additionally there, are two other elements that are quite rare. Shadow and Light." _ Puck let out a cat-like purr as he removed his tail from Subaru's forehead. "Well, I know your element now."

_ "So what element, am I? Is it the burning fire of passion? Or a relaxed cool guy water type? Or maybe a gentle wind blowing across the plain? Or is it solid, reliable earth? Or the mystic shadows? Or perhaps the glowing light of hope?"  _ Subaru had a difficult time concealing his excitement.

Puck gazed at him with a hard to read look.  _ "Well, I got some good news and some bad news." "First of all, you have not one but two attributes that you have an affinity for."  _

Emilia, who had been standing by idly, spoke up.  _ "Two elements Subaru, that is super rare. I am so happy for you."  _

_ "It is indeed quite rare on its own, but you have an excellent affinity for both Shadow and Earth Magic."  _ Puck continued.  _ "However, your gate is quite small. That means you will probably lack the mana to use your talent for both groups to its fullest extent."  _

Subaru gave a deflated sigh. 

_ "Shadow is super rare, though."  _ Emilia told him.

_ "What can I do with it? Shoot dark laser? Raise the undead?"  _

Perhaps Shadow wasn't such a bad Attribute after all. Puck, however, destroyed whatever pride he had left.

_ "With shadow magic, you can obstruct an opponent's vision, block sound, slow their movements, and things like that." _

_ "It's just debuffs?"  _

Subaru deflated once more. His super unique, rare, and powerful attribute was only debuffs. However, maybe the earth attribute was better. 

As if Puck read Subaru's mind, he proceeded.

_ "Your other affinity is earth, although not as high as your affinity for Shadow Magic. It still is reasonably high. One more thing, your spirit affinity is also very high, you should learn some spirit arts. But, let us concentrate on your other two spell groups. I only know basic spells for them. Dona, which is a defensive spell for earth magic and, I can teach you Shamak, a beginner's level spell for Shadow magic as well." _

_ "Please train me, cat-sensei."  _

Puck sat on Subaru's head, indicating the beginning of their training. 

_ "Dona." _

An earth wall, bearing the same colors of the mountain Subaru had once climbed, erected itself from the ground. As Puck clapped both of his paws together, the wall collapsed into pure mana.

_ "The important thing is to visualize it, then push the mana through your gate to cast the spell." _

_ 'Visualize, and push. Got it.'  _ Subaru imagined the wall and reached within himself to collect mana. 

_ "Dona." _

For the second time this day, an earth wall began to appear before them. Although smaller in size, it still stood firm. 

_ "I did it!"  _ Subaru cheered himself on. At the same moment, the wall collapsed. 

_ "Well done Subaru, it seems like you can become a great magician."  _ Emilia was satisfied to see her only friend succeed in their magic practice.

_ "Subaru, have you ever trained casting spells before?"  _ Puck asked, his voice was lacking his usual cheerful tone.

The young boy, too absent-minded to notice, replied.  _ "No, this was my first time. Did I do good?" _

Puck's tone changed again.  _ "Yes, you did, although I sense that you exhausted your gate. Let's train more tomorrow."  _

Subaru slowly but surely came down from his high, feeling the same drained feeling he had with Betty earlier, although to a much lesser degree.

_ "Yes, let's do that. Thanks again, Puck."  _

Puck began to think. By all means, what the boy just did should have been impossible. While he did have a high affinity for two elements, which was strange enough, his gate was practically useless. Instead of letting Subaru use Puck as a gate, he let the boy use his own. Subaru's unused gate should be unable to cast and hold even a novice level spell. Except it didn't. Instead, Puck wouldn't be surprised if his gate, at its current state, was able to support El-Level spells. He wasn't lying when he told Puck that he had never cast spells before. 

_ 'If I find out your secret Subaru and I don't like it, I will end you for Lia's sake.' _

For the sake of his daughter, he would continue to train him or have Beatrice do it. Before he could continue outlining his plans, they were interrupted.

_ "Our Lord, Roswaal-sama has returned and requires your attendance Emilia-sama and guest-sama."  _ The twin Maids spoke in Union. With the guests in tow, the group made its way to the dining hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading my second Chapter, the Canon Divergence already started with Subaru's newfound Affinity.  
> I will update the story when I find the time.


	3. Chapter 2: Favour

The small group was walking throughout the grand mansion grounds on their way to the dining hall. Subaru could not stop himself from admiring the myriad of expensive artworks, ornaments, and furniture. Sure, he had seen them on shows before. Still, there was a distinctive difference between fiction and reality. 

Upon their arrival at the dining room, Subaru saw Betty again. 

_"I was watching you from upstairs, and you know what? You seem as pathetic as your gate."_ The small girl greeted him.

_"Sure, sure, whatever you say, you loli. Besides, are you sure you slept enough tonight? If you don't sleep enough, you won't grow any taller."_

_"For the last time, Betty is not a small girl."_ At the same time, she was kicking the ground, like a child throwing a tantrum. _"What does that word even mean? It irritates me, in fact."_

Turning away with her signature, "Hmmph," Beatrice began to look past him, to a certain half-elf. _"Bubby!"_ Beatrice's expression changed to a cute smile.

_"Hey, Betty! I haven't seen you in four days. Have you been staying ladylike?" the grey cat was flying into the open palms of the young girl._

_"Bubby, I have been waiting for you. Will you stay with me today?"_

_"Sure, no problem."_

Beatrice began to spin around, happiness written all over her face, while Subaru watched on with a puzzled expression. 

Emilia giggled and offered him a warm smile. 

_"Bewildered, aren't you? Beatrice is so taken with Puck."_

_"Who even says bewildered anymore."_

Emilia merely pouted as a response to his teasing.

The exchange between Subaru and Emilia was interrupted by a man who entered the room. The man had long indigo hair and heterochromatic eyes, the right one being blue and the left one being yellow. His face was decorated by colored make-up that accompanied his outfit.

 _"My, my! How unusual to see you here, Beatrice! I am so happy that you decided to dine with me."_ The jester spoke.

 _"Wow, you guys hired a Clown to entertain you before every meal? I will never understand you, rich folks."_ Subaru replied.

_"This is not a jester, I suppose. That clown is the owner of the mansion, in fact."_

Subaru's face fell. He never was interested in history classes, but even he knew that insulting a supposed noble was not the brightest idea.

_"Are you supriiiiised Natsuki Subaru-kun?"_

After finishing all of the formalities, Roswaal began to explain the basics of lugnican history, the world in general, and the Royal Selection.

_"You know you are quite a strange man, Subaru-kun."_

_"How so?"_

_"Well, you saved Emilia- sama from the Bowl Hunter, without any expected reward. You happened to meet her for the first time and still took an almost lethal hit."_ Roswaal closed the yellow eye and stared intensely at Subaru _. "Almost like, you have known her before."_

Subaru nearly choked on his food as he chose to keep quiet.

 _"You can articulate yourself considerably well, yet you lack the ability to read and write the basics of letters. Furthermore, you first arrive in the royal capital and then at my mansion. To top it off, you seem proficient with not one but two magical attributes."_ Roswaal opened both his eyes and glanced at Subaru. _"You are truly intriguing Subaru-kun."_

 _"Are you just about done yet? Betty had enough of you talking about mysteries, in fact."_ Beatrice interrupted Roswaal's monologue.

 _"Well, that still doesn't change my gratitude for saaaaaaaving, Emilia-sama, Subaru-kun."_ The margrave's usual speech patterns, lacking all seriousness, returned _. "As a show of my gratitude, you may have any reward you request, be it money, a title, or land. Merely name your desire."_

Subaru put his fingers on his chin. Sure he had imagined something like this could happen, but he never really thought about it. A margrave, a higher noble, gave him a cheque blanche to fulfill any wish he had. He could give himself a noble title, with some land to govern and spend the rest of his life indulging in sloth. Perhaps he could ask for a generous fund and start his personal enterprise, recreating mundane objects from his homeworld. Maybe he should choose to become a knight of the margrave, fighting alongside other heroes, like Reinhard the **[Sword Saint]**. However, all of these options left a bitter thought in his mind. He would probably never see the gorgeous half-elf again. 

_"I have made my mind up."_ Subaru stood up, putting both his hands on the table. _"You are the kingdom's greatest magician, aren't you?"_

_"That is indeed correct."_

_"I know that I might be asking for a lot. But could you please teach me magic and make me a permanent resident of the house."_ Subaru looked directly at Roswaal. _"If there is anything that I can do to compensate you for me living here, I will do it!"_

_"That is indeed a great request. However, a promise is a promise, so from now on, consider yourself a permanent resident of the maaaansion. As for your compensation, it seems like you have proven yourself capable of defending Miss Emilia. While it is a bit early to talk about Knighthoooooood, how about you become Emilia-sama's guard for the time being? Furthermore, I would loooove to teach you the ways of magic, but I am a rather buuuusy individual. Perhaps Beatrice would taaaake the time to teach you a bit of yin magic."_

_"I will never teach this insolent human anything, I suppose."_ Beatrice turned her head away, adding a small "hmmph." behind her words. 

_"What can this little girl teach me anyway?"_

_"Betty will let you know that Betty is a great spirit that knows spells that you humans have long forgotten."_ Beatrice looked at Subaru furiously. However, her glance softened when a small grey cat flew into her field of view.

 _"I promised Subaru to teach him magic too, but I am not competent in either shadow or earth magic, so would you please teach him a bit of yin."_ The small cat spoke to his sister.

Beatrice was thinking for a second before turning back to Subaru.

 _"Betty will lower herself to teach you a bit of shadow magic, I suppose. But if you want to learn earth magic, you will have to read one of the books from the_ **_[Forbidden Library]._ ** _Betty will only let you read them in her presence and only because Roswaal wants to, in fact. If you annoy Betty or damage any of the books, I will kick you out! Understood, I wonder?"_

_"Thank you so much, Beako!"_

_"What did you just call Betty?"_

_"Beako, it's a cool nickname, isn't it?"_

_"It's infuriating, in fact!"_

After finishing dinner, Roswaal spoke to one of the maids. _"Get Subaru-kun an empty room since he is now a resident of the house."_

Rem bowed and addressed Subaru. _"If you would please follow me, Subaru-sama."_

Rem was leading Subaru to an unoccupied room of the mansion. The description of a room would have been an underestimate. The central room appeared to be a bedroom, furnished with a king-sized bed. Two masterfully crafted wooden nightstands stood arranged to the bed. A petite fireplace, constructed out of white marble, was occupying the corner. On the other side of the room was a modest bureau with some bookshelves. 

_"I hope you find everything to your liking, sir. If you would excuse me, I still have duties to attend to."_

Giving a courteous bow, Rem turned around, leaving Subaru alone in his room. Exploring his quarters, he stopped by his bookshelf. Most of the books looked like textbooks to train someone to read and write. With a sigh, he took the first one and diligently began to study.

_"Roswaal-sama, please enlighten me as to why you let the boy stay here, even going as far as to grant him a permanent status as a resident of the house. He could be a spy, after all."_

Two figures held a nightly conversation, the topic of which was the mysterious young man that had entered the mansion's ground three days earlier. 

_"Well, I gave him a favor that he could use however he saw fit. If Subaru-kun chooses to stay here, then he can do so."_

Ram sat on top of Roswaal's lap, inside his office. Their daily night routine of pouring Ram's body full of mana had concluded some time ago. 

_"But still, what if he tries to assassinate Emilia-sama? Wouldn't your plans all be in ruin?"_

_"If he intended to do so, there would be nothing we could do to stop him."_

Ram widened her eyes in disbelieve.

_"I am sorry, Roswaal-sama, but I fail to understand. I have seen his magic training first-hand. He seems weak, and anyone inside the mansion should be able to neutralize him if the need should arise."_

_"Sometimes there is more to a person than is visible at first glance. After all, he was able to keep the_ **_[Bowl Hunter]_ ** _at bay. Nevertheless, watch him closely. If he actively tries to harm someone at the mansion, then get rid of him. Otherwise, refrain from any other action. It would be better to stay in his good graces."_

_"Yes, Roswall-sama."_

Both figures stayed like this for a while, gazing outside the window. After some time, Ram left Roswall's side, returning to her sister. 

As the door closed, Roswall took out his gospel. The last remaining possession he had from his teacher **[Echidna, the Witch of Greed]**. He had done as the book instructed him. Sadly, he wouldn't be the last Roswaal. It was the young man's first loop at the mansion. It was extremely unlikely that he would overcome the mistrust of his two maids on his first try. But that didn't matter. As long as someday a Roswaal was able to see the future he desired, it was an acceptable cost. A genuine wide smile began to creep on Roswaal's face. He would do whatever was necessary to reach his goals, no matter the prize.

_"Do you reaaaaally think it is okay, Puck?"_ The silver-haired half-elf stood in the garden of the mansion, communicating with the minor spirits. Puck was currently resting inside the crystal since his mere presence would scare them off.

_"I don't see a problem with it, although I don't want any ruffians near my daughter. It was a deal between Roswaal and Subaru after all."_

_"Still, it is reaaaaally selfish of me, don't you think."_

_"There is no problem with being selfish sometimes. You should do whatever you want to do, after all."_

_"But, I don't want Subaru to feel bad for serving a witch-look alike. What if he isn't happy and abandons me?"_

_"Subaru, won't leave you, Lia. Besides, didn't he already give you a nickname? There is also no dubious intent coming from him. If he didn't want to do it, he would have said so."_

Emilia remembered the time Roswaal tried to find a knight for her. It was some months after she was found and resulted in her already low confidence taking yet another hit. Few Knights showed up, most being turned away by the fact that they would serve under a Witch. Even fewer came without dubious intentions, most of whom wanted to serve the margrave instead of Emilia. Those that remained were either junior knights that would turn away from her at the first opportunity. Or disguised witch-cult fanatics, who sought to serve under their beloved Witch of Envy. She was happy that someone wanted to genuinely be at her side for the first time in her life. Emilia had hoped that after coming to the mansion, things would change for the better. However, things almost stayed the same. Instead of being treated like a friend, the staff essentially treated her as an estranged guest. Roswaal also didn't spend much time with her, always being at some faraway meetings. Beatrice only ever cared about Puck, completely ignoring Emilia. 

Puck was reluctant to hear that Subaru would de facto become Emilia's knight. Even though he never sensed any ill intent around him. Only the witch cult would be crazy enough to want to serve under Emilia. Luckily Subaru didn't appear to have any connections to the witch cult. Still, the cat vowed to destroy the boy if he ever failed Emilia.

Beatrice was sitting inside her library. After finishing dinner with Bubby, she had gone back to her room. Next to her was a stack of books, all covering the topic of earth magic. Many of the books were written by **[Echidna]** when she was still alive. They covered the most basic earth spells, most of them long forgotten by the majority of humanity. As the gatekeeper of the **[Forbidden Library]** , she, of course, had access to that knowledge. Even if she would never admit it, Beatrice was looking forward to tomorrow. Anything that broke her routine was something to look forward to. So she patiently waited for the next day to come, the same way she had waited for **[that Person]**.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the third Chapter.  
> I tried to give Roswaal a real reason to let Subaru stay at his mansion.  
> Both Rem and Ram consider him a leech that survives of other people's goodwill (just like they did in the suicide loop in arc 2).  
> The story of finding a knight is also completely made up.  
> Thank you for reading it.


	4. Chapter 3: Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers: This chapter contains a small reference to LN EX2 "The Love Song of the Sword Devil" (Willhelm's Backstory).

Subaru arose as the daylight pierced his eyelids. Gently he perceived his surroundings. His head rested on top of his bureau. Subaru fell dormant while studying. Even though his body remained sore, he felt accomplished. The young man was now capable of reading and writing the most basic of sentences. Checking the time, he noticed that it was quite early. Still, someone had to have been in his quarters at one point. The fireplace lightly crackled, spreading the warmth throughout the apartment. Uniforms rested on his dresser. On further examination, Subaru discerned the Mathers crest. The clothes themselves seemed to be military garbs. Putting one of them on, the boy noted that they fit him perfectly. He stored the rest of his uniforms inside his bedroom wardrobe before leaving his room.

While roaming around the mansion, he noticed that he remained unfamiliar with the place. Subaru moved towards the garden to exercise his radio calisthenics. However, he was interrupted by Rem before.

 _"Sir, I was searching for you. Please refrain from just running off next time."_ Rem addressed him with a neutral tone.

_"I am on my way to start my daily workout routine, has anything important come up? Besides, what's up with that sir stuff, Rem-san?"_

Rem gave him a confused stare.

_"You are a guard of a candidate to the throne. It is only natural to address you with due respect. My reason for seeking you is an order from Roswaal-sama. He instructed me to show you the mansion's armory so you could get outfitted with a weapon of your liking, Sir."_

_"You can call me Subaru, Rem-san. Please lead the way."_

After a while, they arrived at a colossal metal door. Rem took out a key, which reminded Subaru of his mysterious one. His fingers brushed the cool metal inside his pocket. Shortly after Rem opened the door, Subaru found himself in a massive armory. There were probably enough weapons inside to supply a small army. What surprised him, besides the sheer amount, was their variety. From conventional weapons, such as Swords, over rarer ones, like flails and halberts, to completely exotic ones, like gloves or metal balls. All the while, Rem was observing him from the entrance. 

_"Rem-san, what are those gloves and metal balls for?"_ Subaru waved around the gloves he found on a small display case. 

_"Both of these belonged to Roswaal J Mathers. Allegedly she used them to engage the_ **_[Witch, Sphinx]._ ** _"_

_"So Roswaal's Grandfather went witch-hunting with those metal balls? But what do these gloves do?"_

_"They are supposedly strong enough to withstand a holy blade. Further, Roswaal J Mathers was female."_

Rem strived to keep their conversation to a minimum. Even though her sister told her that the boy was not a problem and should only be dealt with if he decided to attack the mansion staff, she did not trust him. Nevertheless, Rem didn't care about him being a freelancer that lived off other people's goodwill as Ram did. 

_"Rem-san, I am a bit lost. Which weapons would be easy to use?"_

Subaru, who stood in the middle of the room surrounded by dozens of unfamiliar weapons, was overwhelmed. Swordsmanship was one of the few things that interested him in Japan, but his trainer told him that he had no talent for wielding a katana. Since he had no interest in history, he had no idea what weapons took little to no skill to wield.

Rem was astonished. How someone like him could fend off the **[Bowl Hunter]** was inconceivable. But this appeared to be the mystery behind Subaru Natsuki. His hands were far too soft to have ever seen combat or hard work. His gate was too weak to provide powerful magic. Yet, he still managed to beat **[Elsa]** . A feat that couldn't be accomplished by Knights and even the **[Great Spirit of Fire]**. 

_"A few weapons that are easy to use are the spear and mace. However, if you would like to try some other weapons, we could try them in the garden."_

Roughly two hours had passed since Rem and Subaru began their training. The royal guard had tried most of the weapons from the armory and concluded that he had almost no talent for any weapons. The only weapons Subaru could wield were the spear, mace, and whip. Moreover, he had at least some beginner skills with shortswords. 

_"Thank you for helping me, Rem-san."_

_"Not a problem, Sir Subaru. However, I have to return to my duties."_

Rem had already brought back the weapons, spare for four weapons that Subaru choose. 

Resting in a wooden scabbard was the copper shortsword that Subaru felt the most confident using. A whip was dangling from the left side of his belt. Originally, Subaru had dismissed the weapon as not heroic enough. He found out fast that he was embarrassingly good at whipping people. On his right side of the belt was a steel-headed mace. He chose this particular mace because of its diamond-shaped head and orange grip. The last weapon he picked was a steel-headed pike, which possessed a mahogany wood grip. Rem had brought the spear back to his room, as it was rather inconvenient to carry around. During the morning hours, while the sun was still hanging low, Subaru continued his training. 

Subaru rested on the soft grass of the garden. He had spent the last hours battling the training dummies. It was far more exhausting than he anticipated. Just when he began to lay down, he heard a voice from above him. 

_"Slacking off, I suppose? As expected of you, in fact."_

Beatrice towered above him with crossed arms giving him a disappointed look.

_"Beako! Can you give me five minutes? I only finished training, and I am a bit tired."_

_"Betty is feeling gracious. So Betty will let you rest, in fact."_

Both of them filled the remainder of the time with silence, letting the fresh morning air cool them down.

_"I am ready Beako, can we began now?"_

_"It's about time, Betty's legs began to feel stiff."_

Subaru sat upright, staring at Beatrice in anticipation. 

_"We will start with something simple, so you don't mess it up. Shamak is the easiest of spells for a yin-magician. However, that doesn't mean it's weak, I suppose. Al Shamak is capable of throwing someone into another dimension, in fact."_

Subaru's eyes lit up hopefully. Apparently, shadow magic was more powerful than Puck mentioned. 

_"Shamak makes your target unable to sense what happens around them. But, they can still sense what is happening to their body."_

Beatrice raised her palm at Subaru while speaking.

_"Powerful magicians, like myself, don't need to cast an incantation. For your sake, I will use one."_

_"Shamak."_

The world around Subaru became clouded in darkness. Beatrice was right. He had lost perception of all things but his own body. Aimlessly he whirled around, trying to find something. His efforts remained in vain. Suddenly, the shadows lifted themselves from him, and he came face to face with a smug Beako. 

_"You look scared, in fact. It is only natural for you to cower in fear of my power, I suppose."_

Subaru looked a bit pale, his hands somewhat trembling. Nonetheless, the spell was more effective than he had envisioned.

_"It was rather unpleasant, Beako. So now that I know the effects of it, can I cast it too?"_

_"You can try it, I suppose. Don't break your gate!_

_"Shamak!"_

Black mist expelled around Subaru's body. Although everything was covered in darkness once more, Subaru was able to see in the sea of shadows. It cost him a great deal of concentration and mana to uphold the spell, even for a little while. 

_"It's a passable effort for a beginner, I suppose. Let's try something else, in fact."_

Beatrice gripped Subaru's hand with her tiny fingers.

_"Murak."_

With a small hop, both of them catapulted into the air. Subaru was too surprised to resist. They reached the peak of their ascension, both gaining an irreplaceable view of the lands surrounding the mansion. Slowly, like feathers, they descended back to their starting position. 

_"Murak is a great spell, to evade your enemies, I suppose. While you could use it to fly, you would get blown away like a leave, in fact. Go ahead and try it."_

_"Murak!"_

Subaru repeated the spell after his teacher, flying through the air for a second time. Yet, he didn't reach half the height Beatrice did. 

Slowly he grasped his chest in pain. He felt drained and weak once again.

_"Even though you have great control over your gate, it is still small and can't accumulate much mana, I suppose. Let's try two more spells before you completely run out of mana, in fact."_

Subaru repeated to cast Dona as he had done the previous day. It was easier for him, plus the barrier stood firm for an additional three seconds. Still, he almost collapsed after using most of his mana for the day.

_"Betty forgot that you lack the ability to read, so Betty found an easy earth-spell for you to cast, in fact. It is so easy even Betty, who has no skill in earth magic, can cast it."_

Beatrice turned away from Subaru as she raised her palm once more.

_"Filar."_

Immediately after she had finished her incantation, an earth spike shot from the ground that would have impaled her target.

_"Filar!"_

Subaru imitated the steps Beako did as he cast the spell. An earth spike shot upwards, but before it could manifest itself properly, it dispersed into mana. Subaru fell forward while panting heavily. He felt empty and tired. The fourth spell brought Subaru's mana capacity to its limit.

_"We will train more tomorrow, I suppose. Make sure to get enough rest and don't cast more than one spell, or your gate will be destroyed, in fact."_

With these words, Beatrice left Subaru on the ground as he barely stayed conscious. It was too exhausting to try to push himself up, so he closed his eyes and let his body drift into a well-deserved slumber.

When Subaru opened his eyes, he saw the face of the gorgeous half-elf.

It was like an angel had descended from the heavens. The only slightly off-putting thing was the missing distance between the two.

_"EMT!"_

_"Huh, you are awake, Subaru?"_

Subaru noticed that she was kneeling above him, feeling slightly disappointed that it wasn't a lap pillow. With a swift motion, he got up and kneeled beside her.

_"Is everything alright, Emilia-tan?"_

_"I just wanted to communicate with the minor spirits, and then I find you sleeping outside. You should reaaaaly stop pushing yourself so hard."_

_"Beako taught me some of her magic spells so that I could defend myself. But, the training left me so exhausted that I just took a small nap outside."_

_"It's so nice to see that you are getting along. You two must be reaaaaaly close. Beatrice doesn't usually interact with people. There is another thing I wanted to ask you."_

Emilia's expression turned a bit sour as she looked to the ground.

_"Are you sure that you want to become my guard, Subaru? You don't have to if you don't want to. I am sure Roswaal would understand."_

Emilia didn't have the strength to face him. Even if he genuinely would want to become her guard, he should know what kind of repercussions he could face. After the dinner, Emilia had deduced that Subaru knew less about the world than even she did. Still, she didn't want him to stay with her purely because of her selfishness. However, there was another party that was awaiting Subaru's response. The cat in question had a far more dubious intent than his daughter. After all, Lia was his sole purpose in life. 

Subaru gave a reassuring smile.

_"Yes, Emilia-tan, I want to become your royal guard and then your knight."_

_"But, you should know that it could have serious consequences for you. They might call you the Witches Knight or see you as a witch cult follower."_

_"That doesn't matter, Emilia-tan. I still want to become your knight."_

Emilia was confused but happy. She didn't get rejected yet another time. Instead, she found a real friend for the first time in her life. 

The great spirit took a neutral stance towards the exchange. Of course, he would have been happy if the boy just left his Lia alone. But, if having a friend would make her happy, then he would tolerate him. 

_"Subaru, you are such a dunderhead!"_

_"Who even says that anymore?"_

Both Emilia and Subaru stood just outside one of the garden pavilions. Blue light's illuminated the garden, light fireworks on New Year's Eve. Emilia was communicating with minor spirits of fire that were residing on the grounds of the mansion. 

_"Subaru, why don't you give it a try? Puck did say you have a high Spirit Affinity."_

_"So, what do I have to do?"_

_"It's reaaaaly simple. You have to call for the spirits with your thoughts."_

_"I can try."_

Subaru stood where Emilia was just a second ago. Pushing the thought outside his brain, he tried to call for them. Slowly but surely, small dots were moving over to him. However, none of them were glowing as they did with Emilia. There were a few red, blue, green, and yellow spirits that were twirling around him. The way they moved around him seemed akin to a curious child. Only a handful of black and white spirits showed up. Some of the black ones flew into his open palms, while the white ones kept their distance. But, no matter how hard he tried to get them to glow, they wouldn't listen. Instead, they continued to twirl and swirl around him, refusing his command. Nevertheless, Emilia gave him a warm smile.

_"Subaru, it's super rare to have such a high spirit affinity."_

_"I don't comprehend how I am supposed to have such a high affinity. They won't even listen to me."_

_"You still have to train, you dunderhead. But you can call spirits outside your magic affinity. That's what makes it so special."_

Out of nowhere, Puck appeared. The second he fully manifested himself, the minor spirits left, almost like they were afraid of him. 

_"Lia, you have to go back to study."_

_"Oh, your right! Sorry Subaru, but I still have a lot to learn."_

_"See you around, EMT."_

As soon as Emilia and Puck left, a new visitor appeared. A pink-haired maid claimed his attention, as she gave him a courteous bow.

_"Sir Subaru, Roswaal-sama wants to speak with you."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That concludes the fourth chapter.  
> Subaru's high Spirit Affinity is not a powerup.  
> Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 4: Irlam Village

_"Subaru-kun, it's so nice to see you again."_

Roswaal and Subaru were sitting in his office. Ram had left both of them alone, as instructed by her master.

_"So, why do you want to speak with me?"_

_"Getting straight to the point? Very well, I neeed you to do something for me. There is a village not far from my domain. The forest around it is infested with mabeasts."_

_"Wouldn't that be a problem?"_

_"Normally yes, however." Roswaal pulled out a small green gemstone. "These barrier stones have been made to keep the beast away."_

The margrave gave Subaru the barrier stone in his hand, with a chain attached to it.

_"Since Rem is heading to the village today, I want you to accompany her. Since you are now an official guard of the Mathers family, it wouldn't hurt to get familiar with some of my subjects. Who knows, maybe you will be able to help them with their problems."_

The last sentence had the same mysterious undertone, Roswaal used when speaking with Subaru about his origin. As Subaru turned to leave, he was interrupted by the noble once more.

_"Subaru-kun, take these with you. You might find them useful."_

Roswaal handed the young man a small brown bag. Upon opening, he recognized a vaguely familiar hooded figure. Three silver coins, engraved with the picture of the **[Sage]** , lay inside the bag. Additionally, fifteen copper coins, with an image of the royal castle, rested beside them. 

_"What is this for?"_

_"Two weeks of your salary. Consider it a little bonus. Now than Subaru, I am putting my trust in you, don't disappoint."_

Putting his money on his belt, the new guard stood up and left the room. 

Subaru continued his study inside his room. Suddenly the door opened, and Ram entered.

 _"Care for some tea, Sir?"_ She moved next to Subaru without awaiting his response. _"You are actually studying?"_

_"Of course I am. What did you expect?"_

_"To be perfectly honest, not much from a freeloader like you, Sir."_

_"Talk about rude. Do you want to drink some tea with me?"_

_"No, thank you, Sir. I have to help my sister."_

Ram left the room as Subaru continued to study. He couldn't help but notice how forced the word "Sir" sounded when Ram used it.

A fatigued Subaru closed the textbook. His day had been nothing but work. First, the combat training with Rem, then the magic training with Beako, and now he had to study. On top of that, he had to visit the village with Rem later. Pushing his workload out of his mind, he began to think. 

The white void gifted him some abilities, like his trained gate, the key, and perhaps his affinity for earth magic. Maybe the three wishes were some starting gift, or he gained them through a task he completed. A morbid thought manifested itself within him. Perhaps his death triggered the white void. However, he didn't have enough information to confirm or deny it. The idea itself made Subaru sick, but he might find himself in a situation where he had to abuse both **[Return by Death]** and his unknown ability. 

After lunch, Subaru made his way to Rem. Both of them made their way down the dirt road that led them to the village. They spend most of their walk in awkward silence. After a while, Subaru attempted to strike a conversation.

_"Say Rem-san, how long have you been working for Roswaal?"_

_"I have worked for Roswaal-sama almost my entire life."_

_"So, how is the work at the mansion?"_

_"It's extensive. We are only two maids."_

Rem turned down any attempts that Subaru made. So both of them proceeded to walk in silence. Shortly afterward, they arrived at the outskirts of the village.

_"I don't know which assignment Roswaal-sama gave you, but Rem will complete her tasks now."_

With these parting words, Rem left. Subaru took out his barrier stone and placed it on his neck. As soon as he crossed the village boundary, kids began to flock to him.

 _"Wow, are you a knight?"_ One boy, with a buzzed haircut and a chubby face, asked him

 _"Have you fought monsters before?"_ This question came from one of two twins.

 _"Who are you, Sir?"_ A girl with reddish-brown hair and cyan eyes inquired.

Behind the group stood a small girl with blue hair and olive green eyes. In her hand rested a puppy with a scar on top of his head. Meanwhile, Subaru was busy getting bombarded with questions. 

_"Woah, Woah. One question after another."_ Subaru spoke up. 

The children continued to ask him all sorts of questions. From his occupation, over his adventures, and if he was able to use magic. When he showed them his black mana ball, all of them were astonished, except for the blue-haired girl. 

_"That's about all the time I have. I am on a secret mission, after all."_

_"Can you please tell us, Mister?" "Yes, tell us, please." "We won't tell anyone, we promise."_

Everyone seemed thrilled, except again for the blue-haired girl. Perhaps she is one of those weird kids that grow up way too fast. Promising the children to come back once again, Subaru made his way over to the village. Upon entering, he made his way over to the supposed mayor of the community. 

_"Young man, who might you be?"_ The old man greeted him.

_"My name is Natsuki Subaru. The margrave sends me to check on the village."_

_"Where are my manners? My name is Muraosa. I am the head of the_ **_[Irlam Village]_ ** _. So why did the margrave sent you? Are you his new tax collector?"_

Subaru scratched the back of his head.

_"Not really. I am the guard of a potential queen of Lagunica. I just came down here to see what I can do to help with."_

_"Thank the dragon."_ Even though Subaru had only been here for a short while, he had learned some of the common phrases. Thanking the **[Divine Dragon]** was the highest form of gratitude one could give. _"The mabeasts around the forest had been acting strangely, lately. We don't have guards or magic casters here. Besides, you look quite formidable young man. So, could an old man like me trouble you with that task?"_

The village elder looked at Subaru with hope in his eyes.

_"Sure thing, I will take care of it!"_

_"Thank you very much, young man."_

After informing Rem of his detour, he made his way into the thick forest. Subaru made his way over to the third row of barrier stones. All of them were intact, giving off a warming green light. The villagers had put up multiple rows of the barrier stones in order to cultivate most of the land around the village itself. Subaru had made his way to the fourth row when he noticed. The barrier stones of the next line were either missing or damaged. The boy could feel the red eyes glaring at him. He now was beyond the barrier and came face to face with one of the Wolgrams. They looked exactly like the beasts from the abandoned building, except the one before him was missing the yellow horn on his forehead. The animal was fletching it's razor-sharp teeth but remained immobile otherwise. Subaru did his best to ignore it, continuing to walk around the edge of the last row of barrier stones, marking down the missing or damaged ones. 

Following his encounter with the mabeast and a long walk, Subaru stumbled upon an old cabin. Half of the wooden house crumbled onto the dirt path and left him with no other option but to cross it. The cabin itself was unremarkable. Although almost all of the interior had decayed, one could spot the use of the different rooms. The same odor of rotting wood invaded Subaru's nose once more. While crossing the house, Subaru found a large wooden door. Even if the cabin was in catastrophic condition, the door itself was spotless, appearing as if someone painted it just hours prior. He tried to open the door, but no matter how hard he pulled or pushed, it wouldn't budge. A flash of curiosity overcame him. He took out his bronze key and tried to insert it into the keyhole. It fit perfectly, and as he turned the key around, the door flew open. 

Subaru found himself in a small room. Although it was unremarkable, it offered a stark contrast to the rest of the cabin. The furniture that was inside was clean, and it was warm. The room itself had a rather minimalistic design. A bed, a chair, a furnace, and a dresser took up most of the space. The whole room possessed an orange-black color scheme, similar to the colors of Subaru's tracksuit. As if that wasn't confusing enough, he spotted a bronze plaque over the door. Engraved on it was his name. What looked like a spare copy of his tracksuit rested on top of the drawer. The door had closed itself on its own accord. The key was also on the inside of the room, hanging in the lock. Subaru looked outside the window. He saw a beautiful lake with green water and a small wooden footbridge. 

After thinking for a while, he concluded something. This room was likely not physically attached to the house. The door seemed to act as a gateway to this room. Either way, the room was far away or in some weird dimensional area. But, he had to try some diffrent doors to confirm his theory. Also, time passed by rather quickly, as the sun had slowly faded away. So Subaru made himself on his way back.

By the time he reached the village boundary, the moon was already decorating the sky. At a fast pace, he ran towards the community. Subaru tried to reach it before nightfall, already picturing the reprehensive look of Rem for coming back so late. Once again, he could feel the cold and hungry stares from the wild beasts. After running for a while, he arrived at one of the barriers. As he was panting heavily, he spotted something. While it was too dark to see, he made out a silhouette. That something made its way to one of the green stones, seemingly too focused on its task to notice Subaru. The figure took one of the crystals in its hands and destroyed it. The young man could briefly see the hair color of the assailant, which was blue.

 _"Rem, what are you doing?"_ Subaru spoke to what he expected to be the maid.

The blue-haired girl didn't respond. Instead, he could hear several of the beasts running towards him. The Wolfgrams closed in on him, but before outright attacking, they backed away. Almost like two invisible forces pushed them. One wanted them to kill the young man, and the other attempting to force them to flee. Subaru, however, wasted no time as he brought down his mace on the first one. He could hear the sound of bones shattering as he broke the skull of one of the beasts. Blood splattered all over him as he lifted the mace to attack another one. Relentlessly, he kept killing the Wolfgrams every time they tried to approach him. Subaru was soon covered in the blood of the beasts. He could feel himself running out of stamina. But, for every beast he killed, two more appeared to keep up their relentless assault. 

Suddenly, an earth blast pushed upwards. He lost his footing and was flying through the air before hitting the ground. While flying, he lost hold of his weapon. Another demon dog ran towards him, intending to kill him.

 _"Filar."_

With his last energy, Subaru raised an earth spike that penetrated the advancing animal. But, it wasn't enough. Clutching his chest in pain, he fell to the ground. Neither having the strength nor the resolve to stand back up, he awaited his fate. Beast after beast came rushing at him, as the first one overcame the barrier stones power. Subaru could feel them pierce their teeth into his limbs, breaking his bones and spilling his blood. He used his remaining strength to cry and scream. Fortunately for him, one of the dogs broke his neck to put him out of his misery.

Subaru Natsuki died for the fifth time.

Subaru found himself in a dark room. The last thing he saw before he died was a silver light, almost as beautiful as Emilia's hair. He took a few steps forward. The darkness followed him with every step that he took. It was like an oppressive presence that struck fear in his heart. However, a blue light rescued him, as it began swirling around him happily. 

_"I am Berehynia, a spirit of water. Do you want to form a contract with me?" the feminine voice was asking him full of joy._

_"It would be an honor, Berehynia."_

As both spirit and contractor completed their contract, the world slowly fell apart again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter.
> 
> For the currency:   
> Ten copper coins equal one silver (copper is used by unskilled workers).   
> Ten silver equals one gold (silver is mostly used by small merchants and skilled labor.)  
> Ten gold equals one holy gold (gold is used by bigger merchants and low ranking knights.)  
> And holy coins are only used by nobles and the government.
> 
> Subaru got himself a water Spirit. It will take some time before he can use her to his fullest potential.  
> Berehynia is also named after a star.  
> Since I only watched the anime until arc 3, I don't know if that's how the barrier stone works.


	6. Chapter 5: Mistrust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains spoilers for:  
> \- Minor Information about Ram's origin (Arc 6)  
> \- Minor Information about Roswaal's and Beatrice past (Arc 4)

" _Berehynia,"_ the new contractor spoke, _"you are a spirit of water, right? What can you do?"_

Berehynia happily began to swirl around him.

_"Water magic has many diffrent purposes. However, you can break them down into three main areas. The first is healing, which is my specialty. The second one is the manipulation of water or fluids. The third and last one is to use this manipulation to create ice."_

The silence persisted as they used their spiritual connection to communicate.

_"As I already said, I am most proficient in the use of healing magic. I also am quite good at creating and manipulating water. Although, most of my abilities are defensive."_

The spirit of water flew into her contractor's open palms.

_"I theoretically could create ice, but it would burn through my mana, and I am not very good at it."_

A small blue crystal formed in Subaru's hand. 

_"This is a dwelling stone for spirits. Since it costs mana to manifest myself in the world, this is where I rest when I am not needed."_

_"I heard that there are diffrent levels of spirits. What are those ?"_

_"Every spirit starts being a lesser spirit. Those are very weak, but since they burn almost no mana, they can stay manifested all the time. After a while, they become quasi-spirits. Those are stronger, but they are very childlike. They also need a crystal, although they can still be active for most of the day. Afterward, they become a real spirit like me. We are more powerful than the quasi-spirits, but staying in a physical form takes more mana. The last phase is to become a great spirit. Great spirits have a physical form, instead of being an orb or a light. They are extremely powerful but often too prideful to enter a contract with anyone. If given the time, theoretically, any spirit can become a great spirit."_

Berehynia continued to fly around Subaru during the exposition.

_"I use the mana from the atmosphere and can act as a gate, so if you run out of mana, we can still cast spells together."_

_"You know, you are such a powerful spirits arts user, but you seem to know nothing."_ Berehynia appeared amused about her contractor's cluelessness.

Subaru found himself in his quarters. He let out a painted grunt as he started to rub his neck. In his hand, he found a lapis lazuli blue gemstone, which was a bit smaller than Emilia's. While he was starring at the blue crystal, a light appeared next to him. 

_"This is your room? It's huge."_ Berehynia flew around his room in an agitative state, exploring it from top to bottom. 

Subaru's glance crossed the pages in front of him. If he remembered correctly, Ram should call him for lunch right about now. At the same time, the door opened.

 _"Speak of the devil,"_ Subaru mumbled to himself.

_"Sir Subaru, lunch ....."_

Ram didn't finish when she came face to face with a blue light. Sure she had seen spirits before. After all, Miss Emilia communicated with them every morning and night, but this one was way bigger and more colorful. The oni continued to stare at the light in confusion.

 _"Hello, my name is Berehynia. What is your name?"_ a feminine voice full of energy asked her.

Ram continued to watch the blue orb as she tried to find the right words.

_"Berehynia, don't bother Ram too much. After all, she hasn't seen you before."_

The blue light turned away from her and returned to its contractor. When Ram glanced over to the young boy, she could see a blue stone around his neck. 

_"Was that your spirit?"_

_"Yes, I am sorry if she bothered you."_

Ram shook her head in denial.

_"That's not it. I am merely surprised since I have never seen her before. Anyway, lunch is ready, so please proceed to the dining hall."_

After Subaru had left, Ram began to evaluate the situation. Roswaal had told her that Subaru might be more powerful than he seemed at first glance. On regular occasions, she would have slept in and leave Rem to do most of the work. However, her master wanted her to keep an eye on his new guard. Her sister told her that Subaru was useless with most of the weapons from the armory. She also witnessed how he had called on the lesser spirits earlier this morning and reported it to Roswaal. There she learned that he must be a powerful spirits arts user. Yet, he appeared unrefined and ignorant of his power. Now he had managed to contract with a spirit in less than a few hours.

_"Just what are you really, Subaru?"_

Subaru sat in the dining hall. Emilia was absent since she had to study a lot for the upcoming royal selection. Rem wasn't present either because she prepared their trip to the village, a piece of information Subaru had from his previous loop. The remaining occupants were behaving differently than before. Roswaal wouldn't lose his dubious smile, and both Beatrice and Puck were eyeing him with an unreadable expression. Ram wasn't any better. She was staring into space, engulfed in her thoughts, too absent-minded to notice anything. An awkward silence was prominent in the room, mixed with a fair bit of tension. Finally, the small girl from the library addressed him.

 _"So you started to steal gems from the house, I suppose."_ Her voice lacked the usual smugness.

_"Oh, you mean my gemstone. It belongs to me, I can assure you."_

_"Take a hint, in fact! It's about your spirit, I suppose."_

Subaru called upon his spirit, the blue light of whom covered the halls of the mansion.

_"Here she is. What's the problem with my spirit?"_

_"How long have you been contracted?"_

_"I would say, thirty minutes ago,"_ Berehynia answered in Subaru's place.

_"That's the problem, I suppose. You can't even communicate with minor spirits, in fact. But here you are, contracted to a full spirit that's not even part of your spell affinity group. There is only so much that can be explained by pure chance, so what is your secret? Fess up, I suppose!"_

Subaru took a few deep breathes before he started to speak. Beatrice and Puck glanced at him in mistrust. Roswaal, meanwhile, was smiling in anticipation.

_"Several points, up until now I have...."_

Before he could speak about his deaths, about his pain and his newfound ability, the world came to a hold. He couldn't move, being forced to witness the stopped world. A dark shadow appeared behind the young man, then another. The first one phased through his chest and started lightly squeezing his heart. Before it crushed his heart, the dark shadow stopped itself. The second hand ran across his cheek, gently caressing it. Both of the hands retracted, as he could feel a hot breath warming his neck. 

_"I love you!"_

After hearing these words, he would probably never forget the world resumed a new. 

Clutching his chest in pain, he fell forward. Gasping for air, he searched for his heartbeat. Berehynia flew next to his cheek in an effort to comfort him. Beatrice opened her eyes in astonishment. Roswaal's smile grew as wide as humanly possible at the scene before him. Ram and Puck stared at him impatiently, waiting for the boy to finish his sentence. 

_"Very interesting,"_ Roswaal exclaimed.

_"Betty and Bubby will go to the library for now." She frowned at Subaru. "You will come to the library after your detour to the village."_

Puck gazed at Beatrice in confusion but didn't protest as both of them left the dining hall. 

Roswaal was watching Subaru as he ate. It was wonderful, better than he could have ever expected. Who could have known that Subaru would be so resourceful? The margrave knew, at least to some extent, what just happened. His new guard was under an **[Oath]**. Roswaal himself previously identified the boy's powers as his own. However, someone had just stopped the boy from talking about what happened. Although everything went according to his plan, he had to be more careful. Subaru was a lot stronger than he had anticipated. There was something that protected him. A powerful being, though the possibilities were endless. 

It could be a **[Witch]**. Roswaal knew how powerful those being's could be. He experienced the competence and infinite knowledge of **[Echidona, the Witch of Greed].** Roswaal experienced defeat at the hand of **[Hector, the Warlock of Melancholy]**. 

Subaru could have formed a pact with a **[Deity]**. Roswaal knew of the powers of gods. Ram was the second coming of the **[Oni God]** , after all. 

Perhaps he had formed a contract with one of **[the four Great Spirits]**. **[Zarestia, the Great Spirit of Wind]** was the most likely candidate here. 

There were more options, but those were unlikely. Some of them involved an agreement with the **[Divine Dragon, Volcanica]** , the **[Sage]** , or even **[Od Laguna]**. 

Roswaal had to find out his patron. He couldn't risk provoking the wrath of whatever partner Subaru had. While his **[Tomb of Wisdom]** was useful in most cases, he was aware of its limitations. It was not the original. A being powerful enough could possibly avoid detection by his book.

_"So Beatrice, why do you want to talk with me alone."_ The grey cat was hovering above his little sister. 

_"It is about Subaru, I suppose. You should be more careful, in fact."_

_"What do you mean, Betty?"_

_"That boy has a connection to one of the_ **_[Witches]_** _, in fact."_

Puck opened his eyes as far as his small form would allow him.

_"How do you know that?"_

_"The boy was about to talk about his powers, I suppose. Something stopped him, and his_ **_[Witches Scent]_ ** _increased, in fact."_

_"So? I don't see the problem. We kill him, and that's the end of it."_

Beatrice shook her head.

 _"You seem to have forgotten what it means, Bubby. He likely has a contract with a_ **_[Witch]_ ** _."_

_"Once again, I fail to see the problem with this."_

Beatrice looked at her brother, enraged.

_"Bubby, why don't you understand? Did you forget how powerful Mother was? Do you not realize that you and that child stand no chance against someone like him. Stop overestimating yourself, I suppose. I don't want you to leave me, in fact."_

Puck chose to stay silent. What Beatrice said was correct. If he were to kill or otherwise hurt Subaru, Emilia would probably suffer as a consequence. Still, being unable to do anything rubbed him the wrong way.

Subaru arrived at the end of the stairs. Rem glanced at him with the same neutral expression she always had. Reflecting on what had occurred in the dining hall hurt his head. He appeared to be at the mercy of an incredibly powerful individual, that exclaimed her love for him. It was apparent that she watched his every step and wouldn't allow him to talk about his powers. He also was anxious about the talk between Beako and himself. But that had to wait. He still had to face the mabeast shaman, which was more important. However, the problem was that it could have been Rem who was behind the attack. He sadly only caught a small glimpse of the color of the hair, but blue was quite a rare color. While he was thinking, his new spirit was flying near his shoulder. She didn't know what happened to her contractor, but she had to make sure that he was okay. It was her duty, after all.

Shortly before they reached the village, Subaru turned to face the maid.

_"Rem, is there a way to control demon beasts? If so, would you be able to do it?"_

_"That's an odd question, Sir Subaru. However, if one breaks their horn, they will become subservient to that person."_

Subaru gulped down in fear. Fear that he might have to fight the maid of his liege. 

Rem was barely containing herself. The new guard of Roswaal was reeking of miasma. Every time the smell pierced her nose, she would remember the night, the night when her sister lost her horn. She kept as much distance between herself and him as she possibly could, without being seen as impolite. Her sister told her not to intervene, but she was barely able to hold herself back. Especially after such an insulting question. She would keep her sister safe, unlike that night. She would never fail her sister again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this Chapter.  
> Roswaal, Beatrice, and Puck all now know, more or less, about his partnership with something powerful.  
> The split between the powers of waters is not really canon, everything about spirits (except the pride thing) is.  
> Berehynia's powers will be displayed in the upcoming chapters.


	7. Chapter 6: Against Rem

Subaru and Rem made their way to the Village Center. Subaru, like in the last loop, spent a few minutes playing with the kids. Everything played out the same, except for the scene at lunch. Looking back to it, it probably wasn't a good idea to let anyone know about **[Return by Death]**. Not only because of the strange entity that was watching him, but for his own sake. Previously he hadn't given his ability much thought. Perhaps he shouldn't speak about his ability so openly, or others might consider abusing it. 

After hearing the same words from Rem twice, he made his way to the village elder. Promising to take a look, he ran off into the forest. Since the young man knew the location of the broken barrier stones, he arrived there far earlier. Unknown to him, a blue maid kept observing him as he ran into the forest. After a short while, he reached the tree line with the missing or broken gemstones. 

_"Seems like nothing has changed since last time."_

Rem widened her blue eyes. She had followed him after he just ran off, hoping that the boy was sent here by the village elder, yet she knew that her assumptions were right. Especially after what he said, there was no doubt that Subaru worked with the witch cult. However, in order to not burden her beloved sister, she needed concrete evidence. So containing the arising bloodlust, she stepped out of the bushes to approach him.

_"Sir Subaru, what are you doing with the barrier stones?"_

Subaru spun around, coming face to face with the blue maid. This revelation cleared everything for him. Rem came back here to destroy the barrier further. He had learned from Roswaal that Rem was the one who bought supplies in the village. Subaru confirmed that Rem was indeed the mabeast shaman that plagued the villagers. 

_"So it was you!" he shouted while pointing at her. "You were behind the attack. You were responsible for everything!"_

Rem stared at the new guard, sure of his betrayal. He declared that she had ruined their plans. She would protect her sister. Never again would a dirty witch cultist lay his hands on her. 

Before Subaru had time to react, a steel ball was flying towards his face. 

_"Huma."_

_*clang*_

Subaru took a moment to process what just happened. The steel ball, centimeters away from blowing off his head, harmlessly fell to the ground. A blue wall manifested in front of him, deflecting the otherwise lethal blow. 

_"I wanted to make this painless, but you leave me no choice."_

The maid held the end of the morning star in her hand as she began to attack once more. 

*clang* *clang* *clang*

Over and over, the metal ball hit the blue wall erected by his spirit. Subaru pulled his whip from his hip.

*crack* *crack* *crack*

Even though he lacked the experience, he managed to land a few hits on Rem.

_"I didn't want it to go this far, but for the sake of my sister, you have to die."_

Standing upright, Rem concentrated mana into her horn. Giving in to her Demon instincts, she let go of her rationality.

_"Witch! Witch! Witch! Witch! Witch!"_

Rem flung toward's Subaru at incredible speed. 

_"Dona!"_

Seconds before she reached her target, the earth wall appeared. Forcing her to cancel her attack, she leaped backward. Subaru fell into the mud. Beatrice had warned him that his gate was already exhausted. Resigning himself to fate, he stopped moving. The morning star flung towards him, aiming to turn his face into a bloody mess. 

_"Unda."_

A vertical line of water appeared in front of him. It flew towards the blue demon at neck-breaking speed. His assailant narrowly avoided being hit by the blade of water.

 _"Berehynia."_ His lips felt dry, pushing out the name of his spirit. Subaru felt too weak to pick himself up, forced to watch the fight from the ground.

_"Unda."_

_"El Huma."_

_"Unda. Unda. Unda."_

Subaru only caught a few pieces of the ongoing battle. Blue and white clashed against each other, fighting for dominance. Berehynia summoned waterblades, after waterblades. The blue-haired demon avoided them, throwing her ice magic towards spirit and contractor. The air appeared drained of water, to the point where Subaru had a difficult time breathing.

_"El Huma. El Huma. El Huma."_

About twenty icicles were flying towards Subaru, barely being blocked by his spirit. 

Berehynia accumulated her last mana. She had pushed herself to her limit, trying to protect her contractor. It was moments like these that gave her mixed feelings of pride and guilt. Sure she had defended her contractor exceptionally well. However, due to her lack of offensive capabilities, the demi-human would defeat her. Readying the most potent attack spell she knew, she bid her last farewell to Subaru. 

_"Ul Unda."_

Four Waterblades fired simultaneously at Rem. She jumped and avoided the first one that flew vertically at her. Letting herself fall, she dodged the horizontally shot. She sprang backward to evade the third. Regaining her footing, she vaulted forward. However, this time she was too late. The fourth blade dug into her skin, severing her right hand. Letting out a painted scream, she fell to the ground. Blood burst outwards, covering her uniform and the floor beneath her. 

'I failed you, Sister. I failed. I failed. I failed. I failed. Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!'

"Die!" Rem screamed, using her remaining strength to form an icicle that pierced Subaru's skull.

Subaru Natsuki died for the sixth time.

The world before Subaru turned into a night-black color. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was face to face with a small girl. 

_"You are finally awake, I suppose."_

Subaru looked around himself. He was currently standing inside Beatrice's library. 

_"Beako, why am I here?"_

_"You asked me to teach you shadow magic, I suppose. Did you hit your head and forget that?"_

_"Well, yes, but I went to the village with Rem. Why am I here?"_

_"Do you want me to train you, or do you want to leave? Make up your mind, in fact."_

Subaru thought for a second before he realized. He died, so this Beatrice was not real. So why not take the free yin magic lessons?

_"Let's begin, Beako."_

Subaru spent two weeks in the library with Beako. The time in this space was weirdly bent, comparable to his other times in the void. Beatrice taught him some additional shadow magic, helping him improve both Shamak and Murak. A new spell he learned was Minya, a shadow magic attack spell. However, Subaru couldn't create more than seven shards. Beatrice told him that it wasn't a problem of lacking skill but rather his lackluster gate. After he finished his last set of spells, he wished the fake spirit his farewell. Subaru relaxed as the world around him ejected him once again.

Subaru stood in front of the village elder. Subaru listened to his request for the third time. The young guard made his way through the forest, moving slow and methodically to avoid arousing suspicion. 

He used the time to assess the situation. Although Rem was not the assailant of the village, she had killed him. Thinking back, he questioned why Rem would need the mabeasts in the first place since she was strong enough on her own. That left the little girl or an unknown attacker as the only option. He slapped himself against the forehead when he thought about the previous loop. It was tedious to consider what other people knew about the current loop. Smiling to himself, he understood how suspicious he must have looked to Rem. 

_"Berehynia, can you look around the boundary of the forest so we could get done faster."_

His spirit gave him a sign of approval before it flew off into the distance. After they had spent half an hour, he came to the same assumption. The intruder used the cover of night to weaken the barrier. To avoid further distrust, Subaru made his way back to Rem.

_"Young man, did you find anything?"_

_"The outermost village barrier is damaged. It looks like someone is trying to weaken the barrier since some crystals are missing and some are damaged."_

Rem stared at him with an unreadable expression. Subaru hoped that he didn't draw any negative attention to himself in this loop.

_"Rem will report this to Roswaal-sama. Roswaal will decide if any further action is necessary."_

The elder gave the young guard his hand.

_"Thank you for fulfilling an old man's request."_

As both of them turned to leave the village, they were getting swarmed by the kids again. 

_"Mister, did you complete your top-secret mission?"_

_"Mister, are you leaving already?"_

Rem looked astonished as the kids flocked towards the young man. It confused her. How can a witch cultist member happily play with children? Why were they so interested in him? Questions rang through the maid's head, but a child ripped her out of it.

_"Miss, are you also a knight?"_

_"Yes, she has to be. After all, she is following Subaru on his secret mission."_

_"No, Rem is not a knight."_

Rem was overwhelmed. On regular occasions, she wouldn't interact with the villagers since she had to hurry back to the mansion to help her sister. 

_"Are you sure, Miss Rem? It is okay if you tell us we won't tell anyone. We promise."_

There were interrupted through an unmanly scream just behind them. Rem looked to Subaru, who was holding his hand in pain. A small blue-haired girl stood next to him, with a puppy in her arm. The puppy bid into his right hand as crimson blood ran from his wound. 

Subaru entered his room. It had been a few days since he last went to the village. Since then, he had been busy. His days, for the most part, were the same. He woke up in the morning to train his spirit arts. It was infuriating because even if he could attract more spirits, none of them would listen to him. Afterward, he began to train his four weapons of choice. Following his armament training, Beatrice taught him a bit of shadow magic. Since the unusual lunch, both Beatrice and Roswaal treated him differently. Much more like an estranged guest than anything. He hadn't seen Rem since the trip to the village, either. When Subaru completed his tasks, the young man went back to his room to study. He had learned enough of the language that he could read the easiest of tales. After he finished, he usually spent a few hours with Emilia and a very reluctant Puck. Before dinner, he practiced water magic with his spirit. Now he just let himself fall to sleep, tired out. Yet he was happy because, unlike his old life, he now had a purpose. No longer were all of his achievements useless, just because he was Kenichi's son. Maybe for the first time in his life, he could feel proud of himself.

Subaru Natsuki died for the seventh time.

After the bronze light faded, Subaru stood in a crystal cave. Beautiful, colorful crystals up to 40 meters high were littering the cave. The young man felt a strange sensation in his stomach. It was a feeling of strength and lightness. Subaru sat down for a moment to admire the beauty. He felt drawn towards three smaller crystals. A yellow one, he could easily pluck from the cave wall. The color has a striking resemblance to the earth magic he could cast. A second one laid on the ground. It was black, akin to the feathers of a raven. Both of the crystals were about as big as his hand, so he stuffed them into his pockets. The last one stuck inside the ceiling, so using Murak, Subaru reached the last one. It was white, but an impure one, like thick clouds.

Subaru didn't flinch any more as he was transported back to his original body.

He looked around himself. In front of him was a blue-haired child with a small dog on her arm. His hands were centimeters away from touching it.

 _"Are you okay, Subaru?"_ the girl asked.

He had found the attacker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter.  
> Sufferu can't catch a break.


	8. Chapter 7: Victory

Subaru looked at Meili, who held her puppy closer to her chest. 

_ "Yes, I am okay. Sorry for startling you."  _

From the last two loops, Subaru concluded that he needed to bring up some actual evidence. He stretched out his hand to pet the dog on the head as he readied himself for the incoming pain. Just like the last time, the animal bit him. Suppressing his scream, Subaru acted the same way he had done in the previous loop. His spirit closed the wound, and after saying goodbye to the children, they were on their way.

_ "What do you want from Betty, I suppose?"  _

Subaru felt saddened by the fact that Beako stopped treating him in her usual way. He liked her smugness far more than the forced act of friendliness. 

_ "Beako, I have two questions."  _ Subaru gave his famous victory pose and showed Beatrice his two outstretched fingers.  _ "First things first, is there another way to control mabeasts than breaking their horns? And secondly, what are those crystals?"  _

Subaru searched his pockets and showed Beatrice his three stones from the cave.

Beatrice walked up to him and took the black crystal into her tiny hands. After looking at it, she gave it back to him.

_ "Those are mana crystals, I suppose. They should be strong enough to let you cast a Ul-level spell. I have never seen them restricted to a spell group. The black one is for yin magic, the yellow one for earth spells, and the white one for the yang spell group." _

Beatrice took out one of the countless books from the library. Suddenly, she stopped and began inching closer to Subaru. She took his hand in hers as she inspected it.

_ "You are cursed, I suppose. Right now, the caster can kill you, in fact. Betty will remove this curse now." _

The spirit took his hand in hers. A black mist irrupted from his wound as Beatrice destroyed the curse.

_ "So you were saying that a shaman cursed me? But only a small dog bit me in my hand here." _

_ "That does mean the dog is probably a Wolgram. They can implant curses on their prey's body to drain them of mana when they are hungry, in fact." _

_ "So that means the village kids are in danger. Beako, are you the only one who can remove curses?" _

_ "Only Betty and Bubby are capable of doing so. Not even Roswaal can."  _ Beatrice pressed her chest outwards and smiled with pride.

_ "Could you please come and help save the village kids, Beako." _

_ "Betty will help you, I suppose." _

_ "I will do anything... wait, what?" _

_ "Betty will help you if you want, I suppose." _

_ "Really, Beako? You are the best." _

Subaru took the small girl in his arm and began to spin around in circles. Maybe, just maybe, she could get used to this.

Ram was currently dusting off one of the vases in the hallway of the mansion. On top of her usual work, she also had to make sure that Rem wouldn't kill Subaru. Her sister told her that he smelled like a witch's cultist, but that alone wasn't enough of a reason to throw him out of the mansion. Letting out a sigh, she moved to the next vase. Since she lost her horn, even doing mundane tasks was tiring for her. Turning around, she saw something that she never thought to be possible. Beatrice, the spirit of the library, walked outside her room. None other than Subaru was at her side, as both of them were happily talking. Every time she began to think about Subaru, she would inevitably end with more questions than answers. After witnessing Subaru taking Beatrice out of her library, she stopped trying to make sense of him. Ram made her way to the office to report to her master.

Beatrice and Subaru made their way to the village. If someone watched them from afar, they would mistake them for brother and sister. Berehynia swirled around them, happy to meet her favorite spirit again. Though, that might only be the case since she solely knew both Beatrice and Puck. When they crossed the village boundary, it was already night. The whole town was quiet, except for the village tavern.

_ "Beako, you sure you shouldn't be asleep by now?" _

_ "If Subaru makes another dumb comment about Betty, Betty will leave, in fact." "Hmmph."  _ She turned away with an adorable pout.

They continued to walk down the street, arriving at the village tavern. As soon as Subaru opened the door, the duo walked in on a heated discussion. 

_ "The margrave should send down a knight to help our village. It can't go on like this."  _ A young man with dirty blond hair screamed.

_ "There was a guard down here who helped us with the barrier earlier."  _ An old lady with grey hair exclaimed. 

_ "Well, a kid just disappeared! What are we going to do now?"  _ A middle-aged man with black hair shouted.

Beatrice, disinterested in the exchange, stepped into the middle of the bar. Clapping her hands, she gained the attention of everybody.

_ "Betty came here because this human begged her too. The dog from one of the brats is a mabeast, in fact. Betty is here to remove the curses on the children. Did you understand Betty, I wonder." _

The whole room remained silent, watching Beako with wide eyes. 

_ "They won't listen to Betty, I suppose." _

The mayor of the village turned to the young girl, having already spotted Subaru.

_ "And how would you know this, young lady. We are, of course, grateful for your help." _

_ "Betty is a great spirit, in fact. The same demon dog cursed this fool." _

After overcoming their initial shock, the villagers got their children to the spirit, who expelled the curses. Berehynia just hovered above her shoulder, interested in the work of the girl. She was a healing spirit of water, so naturally, she showed great curiosity in it. After finishing their procedure, the group listened to the complaints of the villagers. Apparently, Meili had escaped. Nobody had seen her, following Subaru's inspection of the gemstones. Although Subaru was annoyed, there was nothing he could do about it. It was the middle of the night, yet the village was quite lively. 

Subaru, Beako, and Berehynia were waiting outside the tavern. It had been a long time since Beatrice had left the library, so she savored every moment of it. One of the village girls, called Petra, made their way over to them.

_ "You are Beatrice-sama? Please take this." _

Petra gave the spirit a piece of candy as a token of gratitude.

_ "Beako, that was probably expensive, so be nice to her,"  _ Subaru whispered.

Although Subaru knew little about the medieval period, he knew more about economics than a small shut-in. 

_ "Betty doesn't need help from a self-proclaimed expert, I suppose." _

_ "Betty will accept your tribute, I suppose. In return, Betty will do you a favor, in fact. Give me your hand."  _

Petra laid her hand into Beatrice's, a strange sound audible. Petra gave Beatrice a weird stare before she began to speak again.

_ "You have an affinity for an attribute. It's water, I suppose." _

_ "So, I can become a hero? Just like the  _ **_ [Sage] _ ** _ or the  _ **_ [Sword Saint] _ ** _?" _

_ "No, your connection to your attribute is weak. It's nothing unusual, I suppose. You are just ordinary, in fact." _

Berehynia flew next to Petra, happily hovering near her ear.

_ "If my contractor wants, I could teach you some basic water magic." _

Petra's eyes began to glow in excitement as she looked to Subaru with pleading puppy eyes.

_ "Fine, when I come down here and can spare the time. Berehynia will teach you." _

After a while, they left to head back to the mansion. Parting ways Subaru and Beatrice went to their respective rooms. 

The next four days were spend with repetitive training and preparations. Subaru understood that Meili could push the mabeasts beyond the barrier, so combining everything he learned in the past days and loops, he got ready to face a mabeast invasion. In exchange for his black gemstone, he secured Beatrice's help. Additionally, Subaru talked with Roswaal about the topic, the margrave appearing pleased with his new guard's efforts. Since he had to leave on the fourth day, he put the matter in Subaru's hands but promised him that Ram would help if he would need any assistance. The young guard also spoke with Puck, convincing the latter to protect Emilia. As the night of the fifth day came closer, Subaru readied himself. He skipped the magic training with Beatrice today, saving his mana for the fight. Impatiently, Subaru walked in circles in the mansion's garden. He sent his spirit of water to the village, tasking her to scout around.

_ "Sir Subaru, I am only here on Roswaal-sama orders. Are you sure that the mabeasts will attack today?" _

_ "Betty is also tired of waiting. If nothing happens, Betty will go back to the library, I suppose." _

_ "Have some patience, I am sure of it." _

After waiting for an additional fifteen minutes, his blue spirit appeared.

_ "Mabeast appeared around the village boundary." _

When the three arrived at the village, they found it in a state of utter chaos. The inhabitants ran around in a panicked state, screaming conflicting commands at each other. Some of them armed themselves with swords or other makeshift weapons. Both Beatrice and Ram appeared far too calm, at least in Subaru's opinion. He rushed forward's leading the group towards the former breach in the barrier. As soon as they reached the beginning of the forest, mabeast surrounded them. 

_ "Minya." _

The guardian of the library yelled as stakes of crystalized mana appeared above her head. She sent them flying, turning the demon dogs into a black matter. With a loud crack, they broke apart into thousands of pieces. The maid of the Roswaal mansion began her attack. Raising her palms towards a demon dog, she shouted her incantation.

_ "Fula." _

A dual blade of wind snapped through the neck of the dog, killing it instantly. The spirit of water flew towards an approaching enemy and readied its offensive.

_ "Unda." _

The young guard was falling behind, taking care of the enemies on their rear, who fell victim to his mace.

*Thumb* *Thumb* *Thumb* 

Effortlessly the group cut through the waves of dogs that rushed towards them. Soon there were soaked in blood, pieces of organs covered Subaru's uniform. The attacks were brutal and short. Slaying beast after beast, they continued to run towards an opening. 

_ "Minya. Minya. Minya." _

_ "Fula. Fula." _

_ "Unda. Unda. Unda." _

_ "Filar. Dona. Filar." _

The voices echoed in the woods. However, most of the group was running out of mana. Ram could barely stand anymore, the continued casting of magic taking its toll on her body. Subaru was holding his chest in pain. He already used up three of his spells, which made itself noticed. His blue spirit had retracted into its crystal earlier, saving its mana to heal wounds. The only one unaffected by the battle was Beatrice. The young guard was currently carrying her underneath his arm as she continued to throw her yin magic shards. 

Finally, they arrived at the clearing where a little girl with blue hair stood. Next to her was an enormous Wolgarm, which roared at the group. Additionally, there was a large beast that even but the Wolgarm to shame. It had the head of a lion, a torso of a goat, and a snake-like tail.

_ "Oh, you are here? I hate it when my plans fall apart."  _ Meili spoke to the group without a hint of maliciousness. 

_ "My condolences, I suppose." _

_ "It's no big deal. I have my pets kill you. Don't worry! Unlike Elsa, I hate people suffering. I will make sure that it is over in one bite."  _ At the end of her speech, she put her hands together. Almost like she wanted to apologize for taking their lives.

Beatrice spoke to the rest of the group without even turning around.

_ "Betty will end the Guilitylowe, I suppose. Take care of the overgrown dog." _

Beatrice, the  ** [Great Spirit of Yin] ** , stood opposed to the monstrous beast. The  ** [Jet Black King of the Forest] ** towered over the fearless girl, letting out a massive roar. The small girl, however, didn't even flinch. Taking one step closer, she reached for the raven black mana crystal. 

_ "Ul Minya." _

Beatrice, who reached the pinnacle of shadow magic, cast her spell. The mana of the crystal moved into her tiny body, breaking the crystal in the process. A purple ring of light appeared around the demon beast. It tried to move, but the light held it in place. The purple light shrunk further as the mabeast attempted to break its containment. A small blue light appeared above the Gulitylowe. Instantly the blue light exploded downward, illuminating the entire forest. The sheer brightness stripped everyone of their sight. Seconds later, the light evaporated. Beatrice Enemy had turned into a purple color, slowly breaking apart. 

Even Meili stared in disbelief at the small girl that took out her pet and most powerful ally in one shot.

_ "You must be very strong. Stronger than even Elsa." _

Meanwhile, the rest of the team was busy fighting the dog. 

_ "Shamak." _

A black cloud overflowed the beast's head, covering it in shadows and robbing it of its ability to see. Subaru overused his gate and fell forward into the mud. 

_ "El Fula." _

Taking her remeaning strength, Ram aimed her shot at the opponent's torso. A pair of wind blades rushed from her palms, shredding open the belly of the beast. She collapsed as well, having pushed her body beyond the limit. The demon beast let out a painted scream, blood pouring out its wounds, inflicted by Ram's wind magic. A blue light left the crystal, Berehynia readied her last mana. 

_ "El Unda." _

Two waterblades flew towards the shaman's head. The beast avoided the first blade, turning away to evade the second one. Yet, the blade decapitated the dog. The enormous head fell to the ground. 

*Thud*

Blood spilled from the served limb, soaking the floor beneath it.

_ "You managed to kill both of my precious peds? I should turn myself in now." _

Beako, who raised her hand to ready her next attack, slowly lowered her palm and answered her.

_ "If you give up, I won't kill you, I suppose." _

Meili raised her hands in defeat, not resisting Beatrice, who teleported the group back to the forbidden library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter.  
> This concludes Arc 2.   
> The next chapter will be an Interlude.


	9. Interlude: Changing Tides

_ "Now, we are going to do this one more time. Seven, eight, nine, ten. Victory!" _

_ "Victory!" _

Subaru stood inside the village center, a broad crowd surrounding him. After the mabeast invasion, he started doing his morning exercises in the village. A few meters away stood his liege, a silver-haired half-elf with a white robe on. The robe was a gift from the margrave. The last two weeks were some of the best in Subaru's life. Ever since he defended the village, he had been called a hero by the inhabitants. Subaru was proud of his achievements, especially from the praise he received from Emilia. Roswaal was also pleased with his efforts, hinting at the possibility of an earlier knighthood. The young guard finished his morning routine, giving out a few small gifts to the children. Afterward, Emilia and himself made their way to the mansion garden, practicing their spirit arts. 

He couldn't shake the small feeling of envy every time the royal candidate communicated with the lesser spirits. When Emilia attempted it, all the fire spirits illuminated the garden in an almost artistic manner. Elegantly they bloomed, like a field of beautiful flowers. However, every time Subaru tried it, the spirits refused to listen to him. Following two weeks of training, nothing had changed. Sure, he could attract far more spirits than she could, but no matter how hard he tried, they wouldn't listen to him. They were very similar to the kids in the village. Still, Emilia always gave him a supportive smile and a few encouraging words before she left to study. Luckily, she always accompanied him to his practice while Puck slept. 

Today was no diffrent. Subaru attempted to call for the spirits, who ignored his every command. Almost, as if they wanted to taunt him. 

_ "Subaru, you are getting reaaaaally good at this. Maybe one day, you will surpass me in magic. But until then, you still have a lot to learn." _

_ "Sure, Emilia-tan. I will keep trying until I become your knight." _

Emilia's smiled at him warmly at her only friend before turning back to the spirits. 

_ "Subaru, I have to go back to study. I need to be well educated if I want to become the queen." _

_ "You never really told me what you wanted to do when you become the queen. Do you have a political agenda? Like the parties in Japan?" _

_ "I am sorry, I don't know what you mean. What does a party have to do with politics? Also, what is this Japan? Anyway, I want the people in Lugnica to be equal, regardless of race. The ruler of the country shouldn't get his position through lineage but votes. That's reaaaally selfish, right?" _

_ "I find it an admirable goal to have. I believe, with enough determination, you can do it, Emilia-tan." _

The half-elf offered him a last smile before she left. She didn't tell him the truth. While equality was the main focus of her policy, she had a diffrent goal in mind. Nevertheless, she couldn't let her soon to be knight hear about it. He would call her selfish and might leave. After all, the only reason why she participated in the first place was to obtain the dragon's blood. With it, Emilia could unfreeze the elves in the forest.

Subaru made his way to his room. After completing his morning routine in the village, he commenced with his weapon training. Walking through the opulent hallways, Subaru heard voices.

_ "Frederica nee-sama, can you help me?"  _ The voice of a small girl echoed from the kitchen.

_ "Petra, I am on my way."  _ The young man turned to face the voice.

Subaru eyes found one of the new maids at the Roswaal mansion, Frederica Baumann. She possessed long pale-gold hair with green eyes and was a little taller than Subaru. The most unusual feature of hers was her fang-like teeth. Since her arrival, the royal guard had learned about her origin a bit. He discovered that initially, she had quit her job at the mansion, but after a special request from Roswaal, she had returned. Following her return, she supported Subaru in his combat training, stating that he reminded her a bit of her younger brother. Subaru also inquired that she was a quarter beast, which classified her as a beast human. The young guard still had to come to terms with the fact that, except the children, everyone was physically stronger than him.

_ "Sorry, Subaru-sama, I have to help the junior maid in training. I hope that won't be a problem." _

Subaru scratched his head in discomfort. In this household, he had a status close to a lower noble. It would probably take more time to get used to it, especially when you compare it to the situation back in Japan.

_ "It's no problem, Frederica. Don't be too harsh on Petra. She is still a child." _

Frederica gave him a courteous bow as she made her way to the kitchen to help the second new maid. 

Three days after the boy solved the mabeast incident, Petra had sought employment at the Roswaal mansion. Unbeknown to Subaru, she developed a crush on him. Petra sought approval from her mother when she overheard Subaru talking about his preference for maids. Since then, the young servant has put a lot of effort into her work. Both to impress Subaru and provide an additional source of income for her family. 

Subaru made his way to his training area in the garden. He started with his copper shortsword, repeating the same slashes that he read in a book from his room. Berehynia had materialized, contentedly watching his training while hovering over his shoulder. 

After finishing his flurry of attacks, he took the whip from his belt. Around five days ago, a butler from a noble visited the mansion. Going by the name of Clind, he took some time to show Subaru how to use a whip properly. If not for his water spirit, he would have a scar right under his left eye. Repeating the moves the manservant had taught him, he wondered if Clind would visit again soon, showing him a few more tricks. For Subaru, the employee resembled the badass butler trope from many shows.

Next up was his mace. The young man was the most confident utilizing it as it was the only weapon Subaru had ever used in combat. 

Lastly up was his spear. Because it was very cumbersome to carry around all the time, he thought about dropping it. However, the weapon continued to be the easiest to learn, so he held onto it. 

After some time, he finished his armament training. Subaru brought the weapons back to his room and made his way to Beatrice to start his magic training.

With a forceful push, Subaru ripped open the library door. As always, a little girl sat on her stepladder, staring at him in annoyance.

_ "Beako, are you ready for our lessons?" _

_ "Betty wishes that you just disappeared forever, I suppose. How about starting to knock, I wonder. Treat Betty's room with respect, in fact." _

_ "Come on, Beako, don't be like this. Smile more it would make me happy." _

_ "Betty doesn't care if you are happy, in fact." _

Both of them made their way to the yard, Beatrice's watchful eyes observing the young man's magic casting. 

_ "Motus." _

As his last spell for the day, Subaru tried a new earth spell he found. Stomping his foot to the ground, a shockwave of earth rushed forwards. Anyone caught in its blast would be flung backward. However, the reach of the spell was limited, only reaching around five meters. The writer of the book described it as one of the easiest earth spells, right after Filar. Yet Subaru had great difficulty controlling his magic. The young man also improved his use of Dona and Filar. The structures he created from mana stopped randomly collapsing. He still had trouble with his yin magic, lacking the ability to cast more than seven stakes of Minya. After finishing his training with a disinterested Beako, he listened to her advice and borrowed a book from her. Hastily he made his way back to his room, still having to study before lunch. 

Beatrice, who sat on her ladder, felt a certain way. The same feeling invaded her every time someone tried to find the forbidden library. However, this time it was diffrent. A new person attempted to breach the barrier between the library and the mansion. Curiosity got the better of her. After all, it could still be  ** [that Person] ** . The door of the library creaked as it was pushed open by a small hand. Before Beatrice stood the young village girl, that goes by the name of Petra. Instead of her village clothes, she was now sporting a maid outfit. Her main characteristic, the red ribbon, was still resting on top of her head.

_ "Beatrice-sama, Frederica nee-sama told me that you let nobody enter. I just wanted to give you these." _

In her hand was a bowl with various sweets from the mansion stash. 

_ "Betty only lets people enter when she feels like it. If you so desperately want to give Betty sweets, I shall accept, in fact." _

_ "Do you require any tea, Beatrice-sama?" _

_ "Betty doesn't want any tea. You can put the bowl right here, I suppose." _

Beatrice tapped next to her on a small table. She stopped looking at the young girl, returning her full attention to the book in her hand. Petra put down the bowl on to Beatrice's petite table before turning around to leave. However, the protector of the library stopped her.

_ "Betty is feeling generous today."  _ Putting her small hand in the bowl, Beatrice took out a few candies before handing them to the new maid.

_ "Take them, I suppose. And don't forget to close the library door on your way out." _

_ "Yes, Beatrice-sama." _

Petra turned around and closed the door. Quickly, she began to devour the candies before Frederica caught her. Hastily, the junior servant made her way back to her work. Maybe she could brag to her senior colleagues about meeting Beatrice in her room later.

Subaru finished his lunch, Beatrice joining them for the first time since his arrival. Ram told him that the spirit rarely joined them for any meals. However, since Subaru's arrival, Betty has been attending every dinner. The royal guard was delighted that the small girl would come to join them eating, taking great joy in their antics, even if they were fewer in number than he wished. Beatrice still treated him with respect, even if she opened up a bit. Emilia, Puck, Petra, Ram, and Roswaal were also present. Subaru busied himself with his thoughts. He opted to ignore the political discourse between the margrave and the potential queen. The royal guard's head hurt when he started to think about the amount he still had to learn. It had barely been three days since he could read and write intermediately well. These days, he received a lot of books, ranging from earth magic over chivalry until history. The young man had at least a dozen books to study in the next weeks. So after quickly finishing his lunch, he made his way back to his room.

Subaru spent the last four hours slumped over books, finally deciding that he had done enough for the day. Following a quick walk through the mansion's garden, Subaru made his way to his room. His hands reached to the top of the shelf, where a small plushie was hiding. Together with Petra, he sewed the last two weeks on the doll. Since his fiasco as Natsumi Schwarz, he not only possessed unrivaled skill in cross-dressing, but he also was great at sewing. The plushie was a gift to one of the new residences at the mansion. Slowly, he made his way down into the basement. Approaching a thick metal door, Subaru inserted multiple keys in their designated locks. Stepping forward, Subaru found himself in a dark, windowless room. On a small bed, with a doll of Reinhard in her arms, sat the mabeast user. Her blue hair slightly messy, a small tablet with food and water next to her bed. As always, a blue light began to fly towards the young girl.

_ "How are you doing, young one?" _

_ "It's onii-chan and Blue," _ Meili called out happily.

_ "Here, I made this for you." _

Subaru gave the young assassin the doll he made. He tried to replicate the Gulitylowe with the help of Petra. It took a lot of effort, so he was relieved to see a happy child.

_ "Thank you, onii-chan." _

Meili embraced the doll of her former pet, warmly smiling at Subaru. The boy found it depressing that Meili had to live like this. Beatrice found out that her  ** [Divine Protection] ** created miasma. To keep the people around her safe, they locked her into the basement with only a few toys and minimal social interactions. 

_ "Can Blue stay with me for a while?" _

_ "Sure thing. Berehynia, I will come back later for our water magic training." _

Shortly after, Subaru departed. The boy was exhausted, so he made his way back to his room to take a short nap.

Meili contently played with Berehynia. Since not many people visited her, it was a nice change for once. In the time she spent locked up, she had a lot of time to think. Firstly, she missed her big sister, Elsa. However, she understood that she could not return to her. She failed her mission and surrendered herself on top. Mother wasn't a kind person. Meili knew that Mother would punish her brutally for failing, probably kill her. The two assassins once failed their mission horribly. As punishment, Mother turned the sisters into frogs. It was one of the most horrifying experiences of her life, feeling her bones being changed and broken. That's why she only surrendered under the condition that they would keep her hidden and safe. The little girl seemed to be no joke. Neither did the maid and the guard. Lastly was the small blue dot of light that, alongside the boy, treated her with kindness. Meili turned her attention back to Berehynia, playing with her a little more.

Subaru and Berehynia were practicing their water magic in the mansion's garden. After having formed their contract, both of them noticed Subaru's lackluster gate and mana production rate. In order to compensate for his shortcoming, both of them trained their combat and defensive spells. Although Unda was a weak attack spell, it was their best bet since Subaru lacked almost any offensive capabilities. Subaru also learned that healing magic was a rare skill. After inquiring about this, it made him appreciate his water spirit far more than he did before. She was also excellent at casting Huma. After a bit of casting spells, they parted ways. The young man returned to his room, studying and then going to sleep. He trusted his spirit enough to let her train with Petra on her own. Berehynia always told him how the training with her young student was. 

According to her, Petra could create and manipulate water well. But her average talent made it only useful for an easier way to water plants. Nevertheless, as long as both the maid and his spirit had fun exercising, Subaru was okay with it. Tired, he jumped into his bed and drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Unbeknown to everyone, a partially clothed female was overlooking the mansion. Just like the previous two weeks, she merely watched and analyzed the routine of the inhabitants. Her tongue rolled over her lips, which turned into a sadistic smile. 

_ "Soon, just a little longer." _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter.  
> Water magic is rare.   
> We obtained this piece of information in a chapter of arc 7.
> 
> Also if you want any character interaction or non-canon characters (keep it realistic please. Volcanica, Zarestia or Vincent would not show up in the capital for no reason) to show for the second part of Arc3, please comment on them.


	10. Chapter 8: Human

Rem completed dusting off the east wing of the mansion. Since she awoke, she had already done the majority of her chores for the day. However, she wasn't satisfied with herself. Rem knew that she was only a replacement for her sister. If her sister still had her horn, she would finish her task more diligently and more efficiently. Even now, she had been nothing but trouble for her sister. Rem wanted nothing more than to kill the new guard of Miss Emilia. He smelled exactly like the witch cultists that had taken everything from her. If it weren't for her sister, Rem would have killed him already. After everything, all she could ever strive to be was an inferior replacement for her sister. After all, Ram was right. The royal guard played an important role in repelling the mabeast attack, even helping catch the assailant. Ram had told her that both Frederica and the junior maid had joined them because of Subaru. After finishing her tasks, she stopped her stream of thoughts. Looking outside, she could see the sun slowly rising. It was time for her to wake her sister and help her with her workload.

Subaru stood in the courtyard, involved in his usual sword training. Frederica was watching from the sidelines, giving him a bit of advice. When Subaru turned around, he saw two kids and a blue light moving towards him. 

_"Hello, Onii-chan."_ The assassin shouted across half of the garden. 

The crowd gathered around Subaru and Frederica, who by now had ceased their practice.

 _"Why are you walking around here? Shouldn't you be locked up in the basement?"_ The young guard asked, a bit insensitive.

While the senior maid gave him a reprehensive look, Meili wasn't bothered at all. 

_"The clown said I could come out and play with Petra and Blue a bit. After all, you promised to keep me safe."_

_"Are you sure nobody will try to get you out here?"_

_"Mother will surely send someone, but you will protect me, right?"_

_"Who is this mother anyway?"_

The blue-haired girl crossed her arms to form an x and shook her head in denial.

_"I am sorry, but I can't tell you. Mother would do worse things than kill me if I did."_

Frederica and Petra seemed mildly disturbed how casual Meili talked about such topics. Subaru had gotten used to it rather quickly. After all, he was the only one who visited her daily. Petra, Meili, and Berehynia took off to play elsewhere in the grand garden, leaving the young man and the beast woman alone.

Petra stood in the center of the flower fields, using her affinity for water to spray the plants. Meili was contently watching her, although she was no stranger to magic. In her jobs, Meili faced many fearsome opponents. Fondly, she remembered the time Elsa fought against Cecils, the **[Blue Lightning of Vollachia]** . After she also lost the fight against Reinhard, she jokingly said that only the **[Admirer]** and the **[Mad Prince]** were missing on her list. 

_"Petra, you shouldn't use your magic like this."_ The water spirit scolded the young maid.

_"But, why not? It's so much easier."_

_"You shouldn't use magic for such trivial matters. Besides, you will feel drained, Petra."_

Petra puffed up her cheeks, choosing to ignore the spirit. However, she stopped using her water magic.

_"Meili, do you have an affinity for a magic element?"_

_"I don't. However, Elsa always told me that magic users are dangerous."_

Both of them continued to chat away about more relaxed topics. 

_"I have to let you know that both Emilia-sama and I will be leaving today."_

_"What, why? Why am I not coming with Emilia-tan? I am her guard, after all."_

Subaru had jumped up to protest against the decision, which occurred without his involvement.

_"There is no need to worry Subaru, Roswaal and I will be safe. We are only going to visit a regional lord. You reaaaally don't have to come with us."_

While her line of arguments made sense, Subaru was still unhappy. Yet, no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a valid reason to join them. Roswaal was the strongest magician in the Kingdom, after all. Annoyed, he accepted it, puffing his cheeks as Beako did. Luckily they would only be absent for two days, in which Subaru was to oversee the mansion's affair.

The rest of the day dragged on infinitely spend doing the same repetitive tasks he did in the last three weeks. Tired, he let himself fall asleep. 

In the middle of the night, he awoke to a noise. It sounded like a heavy object falling right in front of his room. Slowly, he made his way to the door, only half awake, and opened it. The heavy something fell towards him, though his eyes were too blurry to make out anything. After rubbing them, he made out the color red. Blinking a few times, his vision finally sharpened. When Subaru could finally make out, the something, he wanted to vomit. A dissected torso laid before him. Blood poured from the upper body, a trail of intensities on the floor. The weapon of the defeated defender, a steel flail, flung against the wall next to his room. The armament must have woken him up. Meters away from the mutilated corpse stood a woman with long black hair, partially clothed. She held a white blade in her left and a knife that looked like an animal's teeth in her right hand. Casually she licked her lips before giving the young man a sadistic smile. Elsa readied herself, full of otherwise deadly bruises and wounds. She was missing her robe. Her outfit somewhat destroyed in the previous fight.

_"Two children, a large maid, a shut-in spirit, and twin maids. They have given me more trouble than I thought. The way you look at her shows how close you are. How enviable. Don't worry! You will meet her soon."_

In an instant, she closed the distance between the two. Subaru had used up his gates capacity as well as his spirits mana. On top of that, everyone in the mansion was dead. There wasn't any reason for him to continue this life, so he resigned himself to his fate. Elsa brought down her white blade on his head, no longer interested in playing with her prey. Her knife effortlessly ended Subaru's life, as it broke through his skull.

Natsuki Subaru died for the eighth time.

The world became black before colors returned. Subaru touched his head as the pain began to fade from his fatal wound. The young man was disturbed at the lack of panic he had from dying. Dying didn't scare him anymore, neither did the pain that came with it. The boy didn't like this one bit. It felt like someone was slowly stripping him of his humanity. However, he first had to clear out this room before he could return to the real world. Looking around, he noticed that he was in a large arena. In front of him was the epitome of a gallant knight. The knight had flaming red hair, complemented by his sparkling blue eyes. The **[Sword Saint]** , Reinhard van Astrea helped Subaru on his feet.

 _"Are you feeling alright, Subaru?"_ Reinhard's voice was full of concern. _"We don't have to continue or even start our lessons if you are physically unable."_

_"No, thank you, Reinhard! Even if you are not real, you are always helpful."_

The fake image of Reinhard remained silent at the accusation of being a fraud.

Subaru dismissed it and looked into the knight's eyes. 

_"So what are we doing?"_

Subaru charged forward, slashing and striking at the flashing red. Landing on his feet, he bounced towards the red again and again. Still, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach it. His flurry of attacks ended up hitting nothing. He felt a wooden sword grip puncture his chest. Subaru instantly deflated, the air pushed out of his lungs. Sweat ran across his body as he panted heavily. In front of him was Reinhard.

_"You nearly hit me. I am sure next time you will manage it."_

Subaru would have been happier if he didn't have to hear this exact line every day in the past eight weeks. Reinhard was unstoppable, a galaxy-wide gap in skill difference between both of them. Yet, he had to admit that he was getting better. Although his reaction was still a bit lacking, his speed increased to compete with an average knight. Reinhard told him that he was now intermediately good at sword fighting. Of course, he packed it between at least a dozen compliments. The bigger problem for Subaru was that his bond with Reinhard would break. A similar thing, although to a smaller degree, had happened with Beatrice. 

_"It is time for you to leave, Subaru. I am glad that you spent some time with me."_ Reinhard gave him a warm smile. _"I hope that you will join me another time."_

Subaru smiled back warmly before the world collapsed yet again.

The four maids of Roswaal's household occupied the kitchen. It was the first time they could talk at leisure. In the last few days, both Frederica and Petra have been busy learning the ropes. Rem, and to a much lesser degree, Ram took care of the rest of the mansion in the meantime. They discussed all kinds of diffrent topics before they reached the enigma that was Subaru.

 _"So what exactly is Sir Subaru's standing in this household?"_ Frederica inquired while carefully preparing the dinner tea.

 _"Subaru is the royal guard of Emilia, but Roswaal-sama wants to make him a full knight in the future."_ The pink-haired Oni was busy making her special dish, steamed potatoes.

_"It might be tactless, but why exactly will he be a knight? He lacks any talent with weapons and has average magic talent."_

_"He came to this mansion after saving Miss Emilia from the_ **_[Bowl Hunter]_ ** _. Roswaal-sama was kind enough to offer him a favor. That's just what he chose."_ In Ram's eyes, he was still a freeloader. Yet, her opinion of him, following the mabeast incident, improved a bit. 

Frederica put her fingers to her chin, beginning to think about the young man. However, Ram interrupted her.

_"Frederica, don't bother breaking your head about him. He can articulate himself well enough, knows proper etiquette, yet could not read. Subaru learned to read and write within just two weeks and seems as selfless as Miss Emilia. Roswaal-sama believes that he grew up in an isolated noble household."_

Suddenly, a black-haired boy, with a small girl under his arm, burst into the room.

The assassin moved with incredible agility. The shadows hid Elsa's slender figure as she made no noise while moving through the hallways. Sneaking into the basement, she came face to face with a large metal door. In her years of work, she learned how to pick locks. Elsa began to open lock after lock with incredible ease. Quietly, she pushed the door open. Darkness shrouded the room, which was spare for a single bed. Elsa bit her lip. Even if she loved torturing people, hearing their desperate pleas and screams, this was diffrent. Mother had ordered her to execute Meili, who was like her younger sister. Elsa raised her knife at the sleeping figure. Even if she had to kill her, she would make sure she wouldn't suffer. With a single strike, the assassin struck the kid. The bed collapsed from the sheer force of the blow. Elsa immediately knew something was off. The sweet scent of a fresh kill was missing. The beautiful red of her victim's blood was absent as well.

_"Took you long enough, I suppose."_

Elsa turned around, faced with the owner of the voice. A girl, about as young as Meili, stared her down.

_"That was an awful rude trick, young one. As punishment, I will send you to meet the angels."_

The small girl only huffed at her threat. Elsa's whole body was warming with excitement. Although her aura was nothing compared to the **[Sword Saint]** , Elsa knew that the girl outclassed her by a landslide.

 _" Minya."_

About twenty stacks of concentrated mana appeared above the young girl's head.

_"How lovely! I had no idea you could do that."_

_"Have a good taste of mana arrows of stagnant time, I suppose!"_

The young girl threw her crystalized mana at the assassin. Elsa began to dodge the arrows to the best of her abilities. She was vulnerable against magic, and she didn't want to use her special robe just yet. Stack after stack flew towards her as Elsa continued to dodge with her athletic skills. As the attack was over, she gave the young girl a triumphant smile, yet the girl smiled back. Looking at her hand, she saw an explosion happen that took her arm with it. Her tongue ran across her lips, preparing herself for the feeling of death.

_"That was a mistake on my part."_

_"You forget that I am much older than you. Now fall apart where you stand, I suppose."_

Another dozen arrows of mana pierced her body. Elsa was crystallized by Beatrice's attack, slowly falling apart.

Subaru watched on as Elsa, similar to the witch beast, broke apart. Beatrice looked at him with a smug smile on her face. 

_"Betty took care of that pesky assassin, in fact. Feel free to praise me."_

_"Beako, you are the best!"_ Subaru gave his classic victory pose before moving to pick up the spirit. However, before he got the chance, Beatrice pushed him backward. Falling onto his butt, Subaru could only watch in horror. Elsa sliced his teacher from behind, who watched them both with a sadistic grin on her face.

_"So Spirits are diffrent from us."_

Were Elsa's blade entered, mana erupted from it, dispersing into the atmosphere. Subaru began to fall into despair as he saw his beloved spirit die. Elsa dropped her after ensuring her death. Subaru crawled towards her, desperately trying to stop Beatrice from dying. However, it was useless. The mana from the wound escaped through his fingers while Beatrice was slowly fading away. Yet, she didn't look sad, smiling at the crying Subaru.

_"Now I am finally free."_ Every word that came out of her mouth was slow, as if she was in pain. _"Are you Betty's they?"_

Through his tears, he could only nod, hugging her closer to his chest. Her legs ceased to exist, her body warmth slowly fading away. Beatrice gave Subaru one last smile before weakly raising her hand toward's Elsa. The sadistic woman watched from the sidelines, apparently taking great pleasure in their suffering. Beatrice took her last breaths as she fondly remembered her life. Every individual she encountered flashed before her mind. Mother, Roswaal, Bubby, and finally Subaru. At long last, she found **[that Person]**. Someone that cried for her, someone that cared about her, someone that loved her. Beatrice could feel his body warmth slowly fading away. His screams grew distant. Beako was happy she fulfilled her purpose.

 _'Are you proud, Mother? I finally found_ **_[that Person]_ ** _.'_

With her last breath, Beatrice whispered something that only **[that Person]** could hear. 

_"Thank you for everything, Subaru."_ The only thing of her that remained was her head and her arm. Taking one last breath, she screamed with her remaining strength.

_"Al Minya!"_

A giant arrow of concentrated mana formed itself above the mansion. With one swift motion, it crashed onto Elsa, crystallizing her yet again. Afterward, the giant broke into smaller ones, destroying the entire mansion's east wing. The attack left only Subaru unharmed. He tried to grasp the Beako, but it was futile. The spirit had faded in the attack. 

_"Beatrice, Beatrice, Beatrice."_

Subaru cried out, but no matter how hard he tried, she wouldn't return. The young man drowned in self-guilt, continuing to blame himself. If he only had been smarter, had could have come up with a better plan. If he possessed more strength, then Beatrice wouldn't have died. If he was more like Reinhard, he could have saved them all.

But he was no hero.

Subaru was only human. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter!  
> According to Tappei, Elsa is both the most masochistic and sadistic person in the Re:Zero world.  
> Poor Betty and poor Sufferau.


	11. Chapter 9: Reason to Fight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains minor spoilers, on how Elsa's ability works.

Subaru sat on the edge of the chaos. 

_ "Beatrice, Beatrice Beatrice." _

The young man cried out for the little girl, but she was gone forever. Suddenly, something climbed out of the rubble of the mansion. Elsa survived the ultimate form of Minya, although she was worse for wear. Her left arm twisted unnaturally, blood oozing from her countless wounds. 

_ "How did you survive this? How?! How?!" _

Beatrice had given her life to eradicating Elsa, yet she appeared to be all right. Elsa merely stared at the boy, her face devoid of all expression. An inhumane screech left her mouth as she leaped at the defenseless Subaru. Instead of using her knives, she used her mouth and nails to dig into his flesh. The young man let out a scream full of agony as the  ** [Bowl Hunter]  ** slaughtered him, akin to a feral animal. 

Natsuki Subaru died for the ninth time.

A white flash robbed him of his vision before gently dropping him into an unfamiliar place. Subaru studied his surroundings as his body was lightly drifting through the air. Colorful stars illuminated his surroundings, guiding him through the darkness of space. There, under the glow of Pleiades, the youth discovered four lights who patiently waited for him. A small red one flew around the young man, agitated and impatiently. The young man named it Flegetonte. The second lesser spirit wore the color white, slowly gliding into Subaru's hands. The young man dubbed it Belel, continuing to name his companions after stars. A green one drifted towards him, seemingly having a rhythm in its movement. Captivated by its action, Subaru called it Stribor. The last one was black, carrying great pride in its descent towards its new contractor. The hobby astrologist designated it Timir, noticing the similarities between him and Beatrice.

Beatrice. Subaru gulped slowly as her death played before his eyes. He would make sure that they will continue towards a better future. He would make sure that they won't suffer again. He will take care of Elsa on his own. With his strengthened resolve, the darkness ejected the young boy. 

Frederica started her day like any other. After she finished helping Petra, she made her way to the courtyard, where Subaru anticipated her arrival. Like any other day, she attended his weapon training. However, something appeared wrong today. The young man held his head lower than usual, an almost invisible frown on his face. 

_ "Are you feeling worn down, Sir Subaru?" _

Turning to her, the senior maid spotted a fake smile that attempted to hide his frown poorly. 

_ "Yes, I am doing fine, Frederica. No need to worry about me." _

_ 'I have to protect them.' _

_ "I think you should rest. I will bring you some tea later." _

Not letting him interrupt her, Frederica made her way back into the mansion, leaving a perplexed Subaru alone.

Petra and Meili chatted away on the mansion grounds, Berehynia supervising both of the kids. Subaru proceeded to them, calling his spirit from a distance. 

_ "This was the time Onee-san and I hunted down a duke."  _ Meili boastfully told Petra, who covertly attempted to water the plants. 

_ "Petra, Meili. How are you doing?" _

_ "I wasn't spraying the flowers with my magic, I swear."  _ The junior maid, embarrassed, tried to conceal her abuse of mana.

_ "Where is Blue?"  _ The former assassin inquired.

Subaru patted his blue gemstone, which lazily dangled from his neck.

_ "Berehynia needs to save her mana." _

Petra puffed up her cheeks before turning away from him.

_ "That's unfair." _

_ "I guarantee that she will spend more time with you tomorrow in return." _

_ "You promise?" _

_ "I promise, Petra." _

Meili, who analyzed the exchange, noticed that Subaru acted differently than usual. His lips ever so slightly trembled when he spoke. Additionally, he occasionally rubbed his arm in an attempt to comfort himself.

_ "Are you okay, Onii-san?" _

_ "I am okay. No need to concern yourself, Meili." _

The young assassin knew that he lied to her. He wasn't feeling alright, but she remained silent. After spending enough time with Elsa, Meili understood that he didn't want to talk about it. A small sigh escaped her lips as she turned back to Petra, dropping the topic of Subaru.

_ 'It doesn't matter what happens to me.' _

Subaru moved along the mansion ground, intending to move to his room to continue his study. A warm voice, full of concern, filled his head.

_ "Are you sure that you are alright?" _

Through their mental link, Berehynia concerned herself with his wellbeing.

_ "I am doing okay. Why does everyone keep asking me this?" _

Subaru didn't receive a reply from his spirit.

_ 'I can't lose anyone.' _

Subaru opened the door to his room, only to find himself in a library. 

_ "Did you forget our magic lessons? Why didn't you tell me, I wonder." _

The boy in question remained motionless, a few suppressed sobs leaving his throat.

_ "Beatrice. Beatrice. Beatrice." _

Subaru dropped to his knees, tears freely flowing from his face. Beatrice rose from her chair, running towards the weeping Subaru. When she reached him, he clasped her in an embrace, continuing to cry.

_ "Subaru? Subaru, what happened, I suppose? Betty is right here, in fact. It's alright. It's alright, I suppose. You don't have to cry, in fact." _

Patiently Beatrice waited as the boy's cry's turned into sobs before stopping altogether.

_ "Elsa, Beatrice. Elsa."  _

His sore throat presented the words slowly, the pain audible with every word he spoke.

_ "What about Elsa, I suppose?" _

After the talk between Beatrice and Subaru, the mansion's residents assembled themselves to hold an urgent meeting. According to Subaru's report, the infamous  ** [Bowl Hunter] ** , Elsa would appear tonight. Her goal was to neutralize Meili. 

_ "So what are we going to do, I suppose?" _

_ "This is indeed a serious issue. Roswaal-sama, Puck-sama, and Emilia-sama are safe. However, as a consequence, our strength is immensely reduced."  _ Ram said.

_ "I fail to see the issue, in fact. One Minya should be enough to end her, I suppose." _

_ "That's not right, Oneechan. Elsa is a curse doll. I have seen her lose both arms and still fight."  _ Meili interjected

_ "She should lose her humanity in the process, in fact." _

_ "Well, Mother can specially cast the curse so that Elsa continues to be Elsa."  _ Meili stuck out her chest pridefully of her mother.

_ "I might have an idea,"  _ Subaru spoke up, presenting his plan.

Elsa vaulted through the open window, using the shadows to conceal her presence. She dashed towards the basement level, avoiding any light sources on her way. When Elsa arrived at her target's room, discovering it to be devoid of life. Her lips stiffened as she relied solely on her ears to find her escaped prey. A small squeak sounded behind her, the assassin responded by bringing down her blade at tremendous speed. A butchered black-winged rat laid before her, a favorite of Meili. 

_ "Elsa, it's not nice to kill my pets."  _ The voice of her partner echoed throughout the basement level.

_ "It's not wise to defy Mother's orders, Meli. If you come out now, I will grant you a painless death. You will have dull bowls anyway."  _

_ "I am sorry, Elsa, but Onii-san promised to keep me save." _

_ "I would love to see the bowls of a man that protects a young girl. Such an admirable one is most certainly strong." _

A sadistic smile cemented itself on Elsa's face. Her tongue moistened her lips as she sped further into the basement. Her bloodlust completely overtook her as she rushed towards the voice. Several squeaks flew towards her. Elsa slashed towards the demon beasts, cutting them down effortlessly, being bathed by their black blood. The assassin found herself at the end of a corridor, the darkness swallowing the surroundings. Suddenly, footsteps echoed throughout the basement. Elsa adopted a defensive stance, preparing herself for an onslaught from all directions. 

_ "Motus!" _

The ground burst towards her, debris soaring as she was knocked backward by the shockwave. Sailing aimlessly, she promptly smacked against a wall. 

_ "That's no way to treat a lady."  _

Her curse activated, healing the bruises she sustained in the blast. Before her appeared the boy, she fought in the loot house. Wrath mixed with her bloodlust, her rage directed towards the kid, who prevented her from successfully finishing her job. 

_ "Finally, I get the chance to enact my revenge. It's quite enviable how you saved that half-witch. However, this time I will make you meet the angels."  _

Darting forward, she aimed at the defenseless man. She could almost sense his bowls as she aimed her daggers at his abdomen. 

_ "El Fula!" _

Blades of wind burst towards her, their sharp edges sliced against Elsa's shoulder. Blood spilled. Her arm flung away, dismembered by the wind attack. 

One by one, white manastones illuminated the basement level. The assassin found herself outnumbered, six to one. Indifferently, Elsa dipped her fingers into the remainder of her arm. The blood dyed them in a deep red hue as the assassin brought them to her mouth.

_ "It hurts." _

Sadistically, she licked the blood of them before facing her opponents. A tingly sensation flowed throughout her body, the arm every so slightly regrowing. 

_ "Three children, a small blue spirit, a large maid, two mediums ones, and a brat. I wonder who of you has the loveliest bowls." _

_ "What a pitiful display of a woman you are."  _ the pink-haired maid spoke before turning towards the black-haired kid.  _ "Subaru!" _

_ "What are you going to show me?"  _

Elsa's interjection fell on deaf ears as the team continued.

_ "I know. Shamak!" _

A black cloud dispersed around the assassin, stripping her senses.

_ "El Minya."  _

Forty stacks of crystalized mana appeared above the head of Beatrice. They pierced through the cloud with incredible speed, emitting a sound akin to breaking glass when they hit their mark.

_ "Did small Oneesan get her?" _

_ "Don't trigger that flag, Meili." _

As the darkness faded, a robed figure broke from the purple enclosure. The robe immediately disappeared, revealing the figure of Elsa, whose arm had regenerated.

_ "One must always come prepared. However, I never met someone that could use shadow magic offensively. How lovely. Shall we begin our dance?" _

Subaru called upon his four lesser spirits, his stars appearing next to him as the royal guard unsheathed his sword. Beatrice assembled a few magic crystals, awaiting the beginning of the fight. Ram collected herself, blood trickling down her forehead, her hand frantically clutching to her wand. Demon Beasts surrounded the battle-hardened Meili, who together, with Berehynia and Frederica, shielded Petra. 

A flail flung towards Elsa, who dashed sideways. Her knife connected against the maid's weapon, sparks flying through the air. Steel clashed against steel, the blows and slashes destroying the otherwise mundane night of the Roswaal mansion. The battle had begun.

Roswaal and Emilia rested inside the luxurious carriage. The silver-haired half-elf tapped her feet against the ground. Her hand clutched against a green gemstone, her fingers tapping against it anxiously. The margrave expressed boredom, yet his mind wandered restlessly. The whole visit remained a farce. Even though the margrave didn't have a problem with the local lord, he was nothing special either. His  ** [Tomb of Wisdom]  ** prophesized his death due to health-related issues in a few weeks anyway. The real reason, the margrave, visited the count remained unknown to anyone but himself. His visit would reveal the answer to a question that plagued his mind for weeks. Who the patron of Subaru might be. 

_ "Emilia-sama, are you nervous?" _

Upon hearing the voice of the margrave, Emilia franticly flailed her arms in denial.

_ "Not at all!"  _

Her voice cracked as she stumbled over her own words more than once.

_ "Perhaps, you should take a quick nap. We still have a few hours to go." _

_ "I will, Roswaal. Thank you." _

The margrave only shook his head. Emilia continued to be completely helpless, so his whole trust remained on the young guard. Taking a small black booklet out of his pocket, Roswaal opened it. He spent countless hours trying to decipher Subaru, yet he remained without a result. Pages upon pages filled with information and plans on what to do after he finally discovered his secret. 

Opening the first page, he recollected the most likely contender,  ** [Echidna, the Witch of Greed].  ** After learning that Subaru smelled like the witch, Roswaal moved up those to the top of his speculations. Echidna fitted perfectly. His knowledge from the future might stem from the original  ** [Tomb of Wisdom] ** . Perhaps both of them agreed on a contract, granting Subaru his spirit as compensation. The only problem with this theory was how Subaru acted. He never gave a strong reaction when covertly asked about her or even when told her name. Roswaal flipped through a dozen pages before reaching second place.

** [Satella, the Witch of Envy] ** , could be his sponsor too. It would mean that instead of knowledge, the young man possessed the ability to manipulate time to his wishes. The only problem that remained was the current state. She was sealed away somewhere in the desert, which should make her helping Subaru impossible. 

** [The Sage] ** ,  ** [Od Laguna] ** ,  ** [the Divine Dragon] ** , and  ** [the Great Spirit of Wind] ** were possible candidates, yet the margrave lacked enough knowledge to know. 

A smile crept on his face. After the defeat of Elsa, he would finally have his answer. Turning back to his booklet, he pocketed it and returned to think about the current state of affairs.

The dance between Elsa, the  ** [Bowlhunter],  ** and the inhabitants approached its final phase. The floor of the mansion soaked in red and raven blood as the fight took its toll on the participants. Corpses of countless mabeasts littered the ground.

_ "El Minya." _

The great spirit threw her arrows towards the assassin, crystalizing her legs to slow her down. The approaching slash, delivered from a hand with massive claws, was barely avoided by Elsa. The flail of the demon maid pierced her chest, ending her life for the ninth time. Blood gushed out of the gaping wound. Disengaging, everyone took a small breath before the end.

_ "This has been by far the most entertaining fight I ever had. Sadly, we have to end it now." _

_ "Flegetonte!" _

With an upswing of his sword, Subaru's lesser spirit released a burning flame before disappearing. His stars had faded, only surviving by feasting on his mana. 

The exhausted assassin couldn't dodge the upcoming flames as they swallowed her whole.

A charcoal-like smell invaded the nose of Subaru. Together with the stench of blood and rotting corpses, it almost caused him to vomit. The scream of Elsa echoed, deafening his ears. Looking down on her, he almost felt pity for the monster that was burning to death. After a few minutes of screeching, the embrace of death welcomed her. Elsa Granhiert,  ** [the Bowl Hunter]  ** was defeated.

However, victory came not without cost. Subaru reached the limits of his mana capacity, his spirits barely staying alive. Elsa left him with a scar under his left eye. Due to the poison on her blades, the wound would never heal. 

Ram barely held onto her life. Both Beatrice and Rem pumped mana into her body to save her. Her sister covered in blood, pushing her body to its limit. Frederica also sustained multiple injuries during the fight, blood rushing down her frame. Berehynia retracted into her crystal, refusing to drain her contractor's od. With his last energy, Subaru noticed that both kids were unharmed. His body, overworked and at its limit, forced him to lose consciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter.  
> Elsa is dead, which will be good PR for the royal selection. However, "Mother" will certainly not be happy.  
> Also, most of the camp is almost dead and Roswaal is making his moves.
> 
> Updates will now slow down, to likely once a week.  
> Additionally, I will update the older chapter, rewriting them a bit, and changing a few things.  
> I will leave a small summary of changes at the bottom of them when they are updated.


End file.
